Virat Kohli has been officially ruled out of the India vs Afghanistan ODI series. Reports had suggested that Kohli had sustained a hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 but played through it for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), much like Riyan Parag did for the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Virat Kohli out with injury
Parag paid the price for it. Recently, he underwent surgery for aggravating his hamstring injury. Luckily, Kohli won’t need to go under the knife. But he won’t be part of the Afghanistan ODIs, which were going to be his return to international cricket after 6 months.
Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar has confirmed that Kohli won’t play against the Afghans, with Yashasvi Jaiswal coming into the ODI squad as his replacement.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal will replace Virat Kohli for the three ODIs against Afghanistan,” Agarkar said while announcing India’s T20I squad for Ireland, England and the Asian Games 2026.
When will Virat Kohli return?
Although Kohli doesn’t require surgery, it’s reported that he’ll need about 6 weeks to recover. Agarkar also revealed that the former India captain injured himself during the IPL 2026 final on May 31.
Since India’s next ODI assignment, against England, starts on July 14 in Birmingham, it’ll be tough for Kohli to recover on time. Agarkar is optimistic about his fitness for the series but doesn’t have a definitive answer from the medical team at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
“Less than a week since he injured himself in the final. He’s been assessed, but it looks like he’ll be fit for the England series. I don’t have a definitive answer yet,” Agarkar said.
India’s squad for Afghanistan ODI series
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma*, Yashasvi Jasiwal (replaces Virat Kohli), Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya*, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey
* Subject to fitness clearance
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