India have been dealt a big blow ahead of their upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan, with veteran batter Virat Kohli sidelined due to a hamstring injury. The injury has forced the Indian team management to make a late adjustment to the squad before the start of the three-match series.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Saturday that young left-handed batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has been drafted into the squad as Kohli’s replacement. Jaiswal has featured in only four ODIs so far, however his consistent performances across formats have earned him a place in the squad. Afghanistan are scheduled to begin their three-match ODI tour of India on June 13
"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. 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," Agarkar said at the press conference.
For Kohli, the injury comes at an unfortunate time. The 37-year-old, who has already stepped away from Test and T20 International cricket, now focuses exclusively on the ODI format for India.
India's updated ODI squad vs Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey