Virat Kohli will miss the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali on Friday. India coach Rahul Dravid confirmed on the eve of the match that Kohli would be unavailable for personal reasons, and would be back for the second and third games of the series in Indore and Bengaluru.
“Virat Kohli will miss the first game due to personal reasons,” Dravid said. “He will be playing from the second and third T20I.”
The three-match series against Afghanistan is notable for Kohli – and India captain Rohit Sharma – returning to T20Is for the first time since the T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to England in November 2022. Both players took a break from the format in this period in order to focus on the two longer formats with India playing the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup in 2023.
More to follow…
Source: ESPN Crickinfo