Virat Kohli set to miss 1st T20I match against Afghanistan

Virat Kohli is set to miss the first T20I against Afghanistan due to personal reasons, head coach Rahul Dravid said in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

The former India skipper will be available for the next 2 matches, Dravid said. Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma will be opening the innings for India, the coach added.

Kohli last played in the shortest format in November 2022, his last game being India’s semifinal loss during the T20 World Cup in Australia.

The three-match contest against Afghanistan will be India’s last before the T20 World Cup in June, giving the team more clarity on where it stands ahead of the ICC event in the Americas.

However, it is to be seen if Rohit who is the captain for this series, continues to lead once Hardik, who has had injury issues, is fit. The No.1 ranked T20 batsman, Suryakumar Yadav also missed out of the Afghanistan series because of injury. Top order batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad was also unavailable for selection because of a fractured finger.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, will be without their star spinner Rashid Khan.

Khan underwent a back surgery in November last year and is still recuperating. Having recently exceeded all expectations in their giant-killing run during the ODI World Cup in India, Afghanistan will be high on confidence in a format that suits them the most. Barring Rashid’s injury-forced absence, the team is at full strength after the likes Mujeeb Zadran, Naveen-Ul Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi sorted their contractual issues with the country’s cricket board.

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