Virat Kohli unavailable for first T20I against Afghanistan

Virat Kohli is set to miss the 1st T20I against Afghanistan. The star batter will not be playing the first match of the series which will be held at Mohali. The 35-year-old has made himself unavailable for the match citing a personal reason. Nothing much has been revealed about the same. The Indian coach confirmed the fact in the press conference before the match.

Reportedly, Virat has not travelled to Mohali with the team. When asked about the same, Rahul Dravid confirmed that the classy batter would not take part in the first T20I against Afghanistan. He added that Virat would be available for the 2nd and 3rd matches of the series which are set to be held at Indore and Bengaluru respectively later this month.

Virat and Rohit made a comeback into the Indian T20I squad recently. For the first time since November 2022, the senior batters have featured in the Indian squad in the shorter format of the game. The duo has not played a match in more than 14 months. fans were happy when it was revealed that the two would be taking part in the series against Afghanistan.

Virat Kohli to open in T20Is against Afghanistan?

The last time the two played for India in a T20I match was against England in the semifinal of the T20 WC 2022 at Adelaide. India lost the match by 10 wickets and were knocked out of the tournament by England, who won the championship eventually. The plan since then from India was to have young players in T20Is in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup 2024. The talks are happening regarding the batting positions of the star batters.

The fact that Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav have established themselves in the team has asked the management to think of different options for accommodating the star batters in the team. Reports claim that Virat might bat along with Rohit as an opener in the last 2 matches of the series. Given the fact that Virat opens for RCB, the decision might be taken.