Virat Kohli to miss T20I opener against Afghanistan due to 'personal reasons'

Virat Kohli (Pic: AFP)

Star India batsman Virat Kohli will miss the IND vs AFG 1st T20I due to "personal reasons", coach Rahul Dravid said on Wednesday.

Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma both returned to the T20 squad after more than a year's absence for the series starting Thursday in Mohali, as the teams prepare for the T20 World Cup in June.

"Virat Kohli will miss the IND vs AFG 1st T20I due to personal reasons," Dravid said at a press conference. "He will be playing from the second and third T20." Kohli and Rohit last played a T20 international in November 2022, when India lost to England in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Dravid said Rohit and the left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal remain as the team's first-choice openers in the T20 format. "As of now, we will be certainly opening with Rohit and Jaiswal," Dravid said when asked if Kohli could open with Rohit.

"But when you have a squad, you have to have that flexibility to do whatever is required if that is in the best interest of the team and gives us the best chance to succeed. So nothing is closed. But certainly, we're really happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us, and he gives us a left-right combination as well at the top."

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Jaiswal, 22, made the Indian team after a stellar show in the Indian Premier league last year when he scored 625 runs at a destructive strike-rate of 163.61. Rinku Singh was another IPL performer, who made his T20 debut for India in December and has impressed with his power hitting.

"Rinku Singh has started well in international cricket and he is playing good cricket," Dravid said of the left-handed middle-order batsman. "He is playing the role of finisher well and this (series) is another opportunity for him to take forward his development. Hopefully he will play well even in the future."

The omission of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan has been a talking-point ahead of the series with some reports suggesting Iyer was dropped on disciplinary grounds. But Dravid denied the chatter. "No, absolutely not," Dravid said of the reports. "Ishan was not available for selection. Ishan requested for a break in South Africa which we supported and he has not yet made himself available for selection. In Shreyas Iyer's case, there is absolutely no disciplinary reason for his non-inclusion. There were a lot of batsmen in the team and I think Shreyas missed out. He is a fine player."

The second T20 will be played in Indore on Sunday with the final match in Bengaluru on January 17.

(With agency inputs)