Virat Kohli, India’s star batsman, has been ruled out of the first One-Day International against England on Thursday at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
India captain Rohit Sharma disclosed during the toss that Kohli was suffering from a knee injury. “This series gives us with a new opportunity to perform well. [Yashasvi] Jaiswal and [Harshit] Rana make their debuts. Unfortunately, Kohli will not be participating due to a right knee injury sustained last night, according to Rohit. This is India’s final opportunity to fine-tune its team composition before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which begins later this month, so Kohli’s fitness is a primary goal for the Rohit-led side.
The Men in Blue haven’t played much one-day cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia. The three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka was India’s only one-day assignment in the year 2024. Kohli managed to score just 58 runs in three innings in that series after a prolific World Cup at home, where he was the leading run-scorer of the tournament, with 765 runs in 11 innings.
Kohli recently featured in the Ranji Trophy after almost 13 years but could only score six runs in 15 balls in Delhi’s thumping win over Railways.
The 36-year-old will be itching to strike form after an underwhelming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, where he averaged a paltry 23.75 in nine innings.
