The fans waiting to see Virat Kohli play in international matches have got a big shock. Due to hamstring injury, he has been ruled out of the 3-match ODI series against Afghanistan. Although BCCI is yet to make an official announcement regarding this, but the discussion on Kohli’s replacement has intensified. Know which players are strong contenders for this.
Virat Kohli was playing in IPL 2026. His team Royal Challengers Bangalore won the second consecutive title. Kohli’s individual performance was also excellent, he scored 675 runs and played a match-winning inning of 75 runs in the final. While batting in the final, he was seen struggling with hamstring problem, stopped the match several times and the physio had to come to the field and give him treatment. However, he remained till the end and the winning run came from his bat. But his injury is serious and he may be out of the ODI series against Afghanistan.
Virat Kohli was playing in IPL 2026. His team Royal Challengers Bangalore won the second consecutive title. Kohli’s individual performance was also excellent, he scored 675 runs and played a match-winning inning of 75 runs in the final. While batting in the final, he was seen struggling with hamstring problem, stopped the match several times and the physio had to come to the field and give him treatment. However, he remained till the end and the winning run came from his bat. But his injury is serious and he will not play the ODI series against Afghanistan. A BCCI source has confirmed to PTI that Kohli will not be able to play in this series.
Also read- It is mandatory for every team to have 4 players from Afghanistan and 1 from Ireland, this new rule came into effect in ILT20.
Who is Kohli’s replacement?
With Virat Kohli out, the biggest question is who will be his replacement? For this, names of 4 players are coming forward. The name of Rajasthan Royals’ opener batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal is at the forefront. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal and Tilak Verma are also possible options.
Talking about Jaiswal, he was included in India’s last ODI series, although he could not make it to the final 11. Ruturaj Gaikwad was selected in the ODI series against South Africa last year. It remains to be seen who is chosen as Virat Kohli’s replacement.
Also read- Afghanistan played a total of 12 tests, had a clash with India too, know how many they won and how many they lost.
India’s ODI squad
Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma*, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya*, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey.