Virat Kohli meets RCB teammate Jordan Cox in London for coffee on eve of England Test debut; video goes viral

Retired from Tests and currently out of action due to a hamstring injury, India’s Virat Kohli met his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate Jordan Cox in London for coffee on the eve of the latter’s Test debut against New Zealand. Kohli and Cox were seen having a coffee in London as the Englishman gears up to bat at no.7 in the absence of captain Ben Stokes who was unavailable for second Test after the nightclub incident.

The videos of Kohli and Cox having a conversation at the coffee shop in London are going viral on social media -

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Cox is one of the three players who are set to make their Test debut at Kennington Oval, London, on June 17. England made as many as five changes in absence of Stokes, Atkinson, an injured Ollie Robinson and an unavailable Jamie Smith.

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Cox was picked for his base price of Rs 75 lakh by RCB in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction. He was often named as one of the five impact players options but did not get to make his IPL debut even when Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell were unavailable due to injuries. However, in a recent interview, he said that he learned a lot observing veteran players in the RCB dressing room as the franchise won their second consecutive IPL title. 

Cox slammed double century in previous game

After the IPL 2026, Cox was a bit rusty with the bat, registering scores of 20 and 5 for England Lions against South Africa in two List A games. Then, he scored a solid 40 for Essex against Kent in the T20 Blast. His return to red-ball cricket was an impressive one as he scored a double century against Leicestershire in County Championship Division One clash last week.

Cox’s first-class numbers

25-year-old Cox has played 63 first-class games and scored 4,093 runs, averaging 43.54. He has 12 centuries and 14 fifties in the format.

It is yet to be seen whether him or James Rew will keep wickets in Smith's absence.

When will Kohli return to action?

Kohli suffered a hamstring injury during his unbeaten half-century in the IPL 2026 final against Gujarat Titans (GT). It ruled him out of the ongoing Afghanistan ODI series. He was replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the squad. 

Kohli is expected to return to action in the ODI series on English soil. The ODI series begins on July 14 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.