Reports: Virat Kohli to miss first ODI against England due to groin strain

Virat Kohli is reportedly set to miss the first One Day International against England after having sustained a groin injury. Both teams will be locking horns in the series opener at London’s Kennington Oval on Tuesday, July 12. It has been reported that Kohli suffered a groin injury during the third T20I.

As of now, the extent of his injury is still unknown and thus, the team management does not wish to risk playing him. As a result, the former skipper might be given rest so that he can regain his fitness for the remaining two ODIs on July 14 and 17 at Lord’s and Old Trafford, Manchester, respectively.

“Virat has a groin strain during last game. It can’t be confirmed whether it happened during fielding or while batting. He will probably miss first ODI tomorrow at Oval as the groin needs rest,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by Times of India. The report also states that “Kohli didn’t travel from Nottingham to London in the team bus and the reason could be a stopover to get a medical check-up done to assess his condition.”

Meanwhile, Kohli’s slump in form continues to bother the Men in Blue, with the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup inching closer. In the ongoing England tour, the batting icon has only managed 31 runs in the rescheduled fifth Test match (11 and 20) and 12 runs in two T20Is (1 and 11). The 33-year-old looked in sublime touch during the third game having hit a four and a six off consecutive deliveries before a stunning catch from Jason Roy brought his promising innings to an end.

Kohli, along with the likes of skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, is likely to be rested for the away limited-overs series against the West Indies starting July 22. The BCCI is likely to announce the squad for the West Indies series this week.