The modern-day great is likely to miss the first of three ODIs against England, to be played at The Oval on July 13, after having sustained a groin strain.
Virat Kohli is a doubtful starter for the first ODI against England at The Oval on Tuesday. The former India captain is reportedly said to have suffered a side strain in the third T20I played at Trent Bridge on July 10.
The extent of the injury is unknown as of now, and the team management is likely to offer Kohli enough time for a recovery so that he is available for the second and third ODI to be played at Lord’s and Old Trafford on Thursday and Sunday respectively.
“Virat has a groin strain during the last game. It can’t be confirmed whether it happened during fielding or while batting. He will probably miss the first ODI tomorrow at Oval as the groin needs rest,”
a BCCI source was quoted as saying by Times of India.
“Kohli didn’t travel from Nottingham to London in the team bus and the reason could be a stopover to get a medical check-up done to assess his condition,”
added the report.
Kohli, meanwhile, hasn’t quite hit his best form in recent times, and had registered scores of one and 11 in the two T20Is he featured last week. He had managed 11 and 20 in India’s seven-wicket defeat in the fifth rescheduled Test at Edgbaston last month.
However, skipper Rohit Sharma has continued to back Kohli, despite criticism from experts, including that from the 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, who felt that players should be picked on current form and not on reputation.
“If you are talking about form, it goes up and down for everyone,” Rohit had said in a presser after the third T20I.
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