Star Indian batter Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury, according to sources from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The three-match series is scheduled to commence on June 13 following a one-off Test between the two sides at New Chandigarh.
Kohli had appeared to struggle with his fitness during the final stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) final against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Despite this, he guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) through a challenging 156-run chase, scoring an unbeaten 75 runs off 42 balls. Kohli concluded the IPL as RCB’s leading run-scorer with 675 runs from 16 innings at an average of 56.25 and a strike rate of 165.84, including one century and five half-centuries, with a highest score of 105 not out.
Alongside Kohli, batter and former captain Rohit Sharma, though named in the ODI squad, remains doubtful for the series pending fitness assessments.
At 37 years of age, Kohli is recognised as one of the greatest ODI batters. He is the second-highest run-scorer in the format, having amassed 14,797 runs in 299 innings at an average of 58.71. His tally includes 54 centuries-the most by a batter-and 77 half-centuries, with a career-best score of 183.
Kohli has retired from T20 internationals following India’s T20 World Cup victory in 2024 and from Test cricket in May 2025, prior to the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle, making him exclusively an ODI player. Since last year, he has amassed 891 runs in 16 matches at an average of 68.53 and a strike rate of 98.45, registering four centuries and five fifties, with a highest score of 135.
He played a pivotal role in India’s ICC Champions Trophy triumph last year. Since commencing his ODI-exclusive phase during the Australia tour last year, Kohli has scored 616 runs in nine matches at an average of 88 and a strike rate of 106.39, including three centuries and three fifties. In his most recent ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year, he was India’s leading scorer with 240 runs in three matches at an average of 80.00, which included a century and a half-century.