IND vs AFG: Pinpointing the last time Virat Kohli missed the entire series for India owing to injury

In a massive blow to Team India, their superstar batter Virat Kohli has been officially ruled out of the upcoming three-match home ODI series against Afghanistan, starting from June 13. The batting maestro will miss the entire series after sustaining a hamstring injury. Renowned worldwide for his elite fitness standards and remarkable durability, the veteran stalwart has rarely found himself compromised by physical setbacks, making his forced absence from this entire series a highly unusual and notable development.

Hamstring injury rules out Virat Kohli from Afghanistan ODIs

To put this layoff into perspective, a glance at the history books reveals an astonishing testament to his longevity. Since making his international debut all the way back in 2008, there is absolutely no recorded instance of Kohli missing an entire bilateral series or a major tournament for India solely due to an injury. Over nearly two decades of grueling, high-pressure cricket, his meticulous workload management and supreme physical conditioning have allowed him to entirely avoid the kind of long-term injury layoffs that have frequently plagued his contemporaries.

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Has Virat Kohli ever missed the entire series due to injury?

In fact, prior to this hamstring issue, the star batter hadn't even missed a single match due to fitness concerns in well over a year. The last minor hiccup occurred in February 2025, just before the ICC Champions Trophy, during an ODI series against England. Then-captain Rohit Sharma had revealed at the toss in Vidarbha that Kohli was left out of the opening XI due to a minor knee injury. Proving his quick-healing reputation, the champion batter returned to action just a couple of days later in Cuttack and went on to smash a match-winning 52 in Ahmedabad, helping India secure a dominant 3-0 series sweep.

The upcoming series against Afghanistan marks an unprecedented moment in modern cricket history, as it is the first time in his 18-year international career that Kohli will miss an entire ODI series due to a physical injury. In the past, any gaps in his 50-over resume were strictly precautionary or personal. For instance, the only time he withdrew from a major tournament due to physical toll was the 2018 Asia Cup in the UAE, where he opted out to manage severe fatigue.

Other absences throughout his career were the result of deliberate rest and rotation policies by the selectors. Back in 2022, Kohli was rested for four consecutive ODI assignments, which included away tours to the West Indies and Zimbabwe, as well as home series against South Africa and New Zealand that were scheduled uncomfortably close to the T20 World Cup. Similarly, he skipped the white-ball tours of Zimbabwe in 2015 and 2016, and sat out the home series against Sri Lanka in December 2017 to tie the knot with Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma.

There were also times when scheduling conflicts or low-stakes series dictated his absence. In June 2014, Kohli joined a group of senior players who pulled out of a brief tour of Bangladesh to manage workloads. Later, in 2021, he missed an away white-ball rubber against Sri Lanka because he was fronting India's primary Test squad for a high-profile, overlapping series in England.

Fans eager to see the 37-year-old back in blue will have to wait a bit longer, as his last international appearance dates back to January during the home ODI series against New Zealand. After sitting out the Afghanistan fixtures to nurse his hamstring, the master chaser is expected to regain full fitness in time for India’s high-profile away tour of England.