Virat Kohli's England series participation in doubt after missing Afghanistan ODIs? Ajit Agarkar breaks silence

In a series of surprising events Virat Kohli has been officially ruled out for the three-game ODI series against Afghanistan. Star opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has been announced as his replacement in the ODI squad.

What happened to Virat Kohli?

While playing a superb knock of 71 off 42 balls in the final of Indian Premier league (IPL) 2026 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT), Virat picked up a hamstring injury, who was named in the squad that was announced last month.

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While opening up on Virat's absence, chief selector Ajit Agarkar has dropped an optimistic update saying that the 37-year-old batter might get fit in time to take part in the ODI series against England.

“With Virat at this point, it’s just been less than a week since he injured himself in the (IPL) finals. We don’t know the timelines yet," said Agarkar.

However, Agarkar noted that anything can not be considered as a definitive answer, as he has not got any proper timeline on Virat's return from the physio.

"But it looks like he might be fit for that England one-day series. It’s not a definitive answer, so don’t hold me to it. I haven’t had a clear timeline from the physio yet," added Agarkar.

Virat Kohli's form in ODIs

Nowadays, Virat represents India in only ODIs, as he has already retired from both Test and T20I formats of the game. His last represented India in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand in January, where had an amazing individual run with the bat, amassing 240 runs i in three games at an average of 80.00 and a strike rate of 105.

Jaiswal's recent form in ODIs

So far, Jaiswal has played only four ODIs and managed to score 171 runs at an average of 57. Notably, he made his debut in 2025 against England where he replaced Virat Kohli.

The star left-handed opener last appeared in the ODI series against South Africa, where he replaced Shubman Gill who missed the series due to an injury. Jaiswal scored 18 and 22 in the first two games before smashing his maiden hundred, as India sealed the series 2-1.