While an official word is awaited, Virat Kohli is all but ruled out of the ODI series against Afghanistan due to hamstring injury sustained during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. In Kohli’s absence, star batter who scored a century in his previous ODI innings is set to get a recall.
As per a report by the Indian Express, not Yashasvi Jaiswal or Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to be added to the ODI squad as Kohli’s replacement. On his return after nearly two years, Gaikwad had scored a century against South Africa in December 2025.
Earlier, Gaikwad was named in India A squad as replacement for an injured vice-captain Riyan Parag.
India A are set to play a tri-series on Sri Lankan soil later this month. In Gaikwad’s absence, Rajat Patidar may be added to the India A squad.
Gaikwad’s struggle for form in IPL 2026
Gaikwad scored a couple of half-centuries but he couldn't deliver consistent performances as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain. He scored 337 runs from 14 innings, averaging 28.08. His strike rate of 123.44 was heavily criticised as well.
Earlier, Gaikwad had scored 413 runs from seven games in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 at an average of 82.60 and strike rate of 115.04. He scored two centuries and one fifty for Maharashtra in the previous season.
Patidar set for return?
After leading RCB to back-to-back IPL title-wins, Patidar may find himself in reckoning too. Patidar made his ODI debut in 2023 on South African soil, scoring 22 runs from 16 balls. He is yet to play his second ODI.
India’s current squad for ODIs vs Afghanistan
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma*, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya*, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey.
India A’s current squad for tri-series
Tilak Varma (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Suryansh Shedge, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Kumar Kushagra (wk), Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan, Anukul Roy.