Virat Kohli celebrates his milestone (Courtesy: BCCI/Twitter)
Former India captain Virat Kohli is set to miss the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali, head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
However, Kohli will be available for the next two matches. Dravid, meanwhile, rubbished the rumors of Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma opening the batting for Team India in the run up to the 2024 World Cup. The head coach said that Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings with Rohit in the three-match T20I.
“No, we have not decided anything on that. Yashasvi is expected to open with Rohit. It also gives us the chance to play right-hand, left-hand combo,” Dravid said.
Incidentally, Kohli”s last T20I appearance was in November 2022, when Team India lost the semi-finals against Australia in the T20 World Cup in Australia.
The three-match T20I series against Afghanistan will be a dress rehearsal for Team India ahead of the T20 World Cup in June. It will give the team much-needed clarity on where the team stands before finalising the squad for the marquee T20 event in the United States.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Rohit will continue to captain the T20I side, once Pandya recovers from his injury. Team India will miss out on the services of World No.1 T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav in the series while top-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was unavailable for selection due to a fractured finger.
