India’s top-order batter Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the Afghanistan ODI series due to a hamstring injury. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to make an official announcement.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is likely to name a replacement in due course.
Kohli in top form
Kohli was in splendid form in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener scored 675 runs from 16 innings at an average of 56.25 and strike rate of 165.84. He scored a century and five fifties in the tournament. In the IPL 2026 final against Gujarat Titans (GT), he scored an unbeaten 75 in the run chase as RCB won their second consecutive title.
Earlier this year, Kohli played in the ODI series against New Zealand. He scored 240 runs from three innings at a strike rate of 105.26. It featured a century and a half-century. Kohli had also proved his mettle on Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 return.
Who will be Kohli's replacement at no.3?
In the current squad, Ishan Kishan can play that role. Among the players who did not find a place in the ODI squad, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson can be called up. All three of them have a century in their previous ODI innings. In addition, Tilak Varma, who was named India A squad's captain for tri-series on Sri Lanka soil, is an option as well. The selectors can also pick an in-form Sai Sudharsan who played his last ODI series in 2023.
Team India’s updated ODI Squad :-
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey.
When will IND vs AFG ODI series begin?
The ODI series begins on June 13 at Dharamsala's HPCA Stadium. The rest of the ODIs will be played on June 17 and 20 in Lucknow and Chennai respectively.