New Delhi: Team India, led by Shibman Gul, is all set to begin its preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup with a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, starting on Saturday at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.India head into the series with confidence after beating Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in the only Test in Milanpur earlier this week – their biggest ever Test victory.However, the hosts will be without one of their biggest stars, Virat Kohli.
Why is Virat Kohli not playing against Afghanistan?
Kohli has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series due to a hamstring injury. The injury comes at a time when the former India captain has been in superb form in the 50-over format.After retiring from T20 Internationals in 2024 and Test cricket in 2025, Kohli has turned his full attention to ODI cricket. The move has paid rich dividends with the veteran batsman dominating attacks across the board.Since the start of 2025, Kohli has scored 891 ODI runs at an impressive average of 68.53, including four centuries and five fifties. He continued this form in 2026, scoring 240 runs in just three matches against New Zealand.The great batsman also enjoyed the 2025 season, scoring 651 runs in ODIs with three centuries and four fifties.India have 20 ODIs to play before the start of 2027, starting with the Afghanistan series, making Kohli’s fitness a major concern for the team management.The Indian camp is hopeful that Kohli will recover in time for the crucial one-day tour of England next month. India is scheduled to play a three-match ODI series in England from July 14 to July 19.
India vs Afghanistan ODI Series Schedule
- First ODI – 13 June 2026
- HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
- 2nd ODI – 17 June 2026
- Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekna Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
- 3rd ODI – 20 June 2026
- MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
India vs Afghanistan troops:
Indian Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shibman Gill (c), Yashvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Arsdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Parsed Krishna, Prince YadavAfghanistan Squad: Rahmanullah Garbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Siddiqullah Atul, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rehmat Shah, Ikram Ali Khel, Azmatullah Umarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangialia Kharuti, AM Ghazanfar, Bilal Sami, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Farid Ahmad Malik.
