Legendary Indian batsman Virat Kohli will not play in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan on Thursday, June 4. The 37-year-old right-handed batter, who scored 75 runs from 42 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Gujarat Titans to win Player of the Match in the IPL 2026 final, will not play in the first-ever bilateral ODI series against Afghanistan. Sources told Times Now that Kohli got injured during the final and that, supposedly, scans revealed he had a distal semimembranosus tendon tear.
BCCI has not yet announced any replacement for Kohli. During the pre-match press conference, Team India’s Assistant Coach Ryan Ten Doeschate addressed Kohli’s absence and said that the official statement on Virat Kohli will be coming out soon.
When Will Kohli’s Replacement Be Announced?
A source close to the development told Times Now that Virat Kohli’s replacement will be announced on June 6. Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI’s senior men’s selection committee will be meeting in Mumbai and later announce the squads for India’s upcoming T20I series in Ireland and England. They will also be revealing the team for the Asian Games 2026.
During the same meeting, the committee will have a discussion on the player replacing Kohli in the Indian ODI team for the Afghanistan series. It will be interesting to see who the Indian cricket board selects to replace the veteran superstar.
India’s ODI Squad For Afghanistan Series
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma*, 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.
