India suffered a big blow ahead of the Afghanistan ODIs as star batter Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury. India are set to play three ODIs against Afghanistan, starting from June 13 till 20. Kohli played a key role during the IPL 2026 final as he helped RCB chase down 156 against the Gujarat Titans to lift their second consecutive title.
The veteran batter remained unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls as RCB secured a five-wicket win in Ahmedabad. During the final stages of the game, Kohli was seen struggling while running, but was able to finish the game off in style. Kohli amassed a total of 675 runs in 16 matches with an average of 56.25 and a strike-rate of 165.85. The extent of Kohli's injury is yet to be determined.
The injury comes at the wrong time for the star batter, who was hoping to carry the form into the Afghanistan series as he aims to keep his hopes of playing in the ODI World Cup 2027 alive. Kohli had a sensational run in the format in 2025, emerging as India's top run-getter with 651 runs to his name from 13 matches, including three hundreds and four fifties.
Kohli carried this form into 2026, scoring 240 runs during the three-match series against New Zealand, including a hundred and a fifty.
The BCCI are yet to confirm Kohli's replacement for the series. The injury also cast doubts over Kohli's participation for the England tour, where they will play three ODIs starting from July 14 to July 19.
India named a strong squad for the three ODIs against Afghanistan, but both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya's availability for the matches will be subject to both of them getting fitness clearance after the IPL 2026 campaign.
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
