Virat Kohli has officially been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which begins on June 13. The chairman of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, on Saturday confirmed that the former India captain would miss the ODIs due to a hamstring injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Gujarat Titans (GT). While announcing the squads for the Ireland and England T20Is, Agarkar confirmed that Kohli will be replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal for the upcoming matches against Afghanistan.
Kohli, having retired from T20Is and Tests, just plays ODIs for India. His last appearance for the Men in Blue came earlier this year when he played the three ODIs against New Zealand. He top-scored for the hosts with a haul of 240 runs at an average of 80 and a strike rate of 105.26. He then carried his form into the IPL, scoring 675 runs at an average of 56.25 and a strike rate of 165.84, helping RCB win the tournament for the second year in a row.
In the final, Kohli returned with an unbeaten knock of 75, but he struggled midway due to a hamstring injury, and he has now been ruled out. However, the BCCI hasn’t provided a timeframe for Kohli’s recovery.
The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia also provided an update on Rohit Sharma, who also faced issues with his hamstring in the IPL 2026 season. The right-handed batter was named in the squad for the Afghanistan series, provided he gets a fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence.
Saikia said that Rohit will be reporting to the CoE in the next two or three days, and a call on the latter’s participation will be taken closer to the ODI series.
India’s ODI series against Afghanistan will begin on June 13 with the opener in Dharamsala, followed by the next two ODIs on June 17 and June 20 at Lucknow and Chennai, respectively. After Afghanistan, India’s next ODI assignment will be against England, and the squad will be picked later on.
India’s updated ODI squad for Afghanistan series: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma*, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya*, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey
