Kohli rested: Why is Virat Kohli not in squad for 1st ODI between ENG and IND?

Kohli rested: Indian captain Rohit Sharma confirmed that Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the first ODI against England.

England and India are up against each other in the 1st ODI of the 3-match ODI series at the Kennington Oval in London. Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first. He confirmed that Mohammed Shami & Shikhar Dhawan are back, and Virat Kohli has been ruled out.

English captain Jos Buttler also confirmed the returns of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes in the playing eleven. He confirmed that the English team will continue playing the same aggressive brand of cricket, and they have some selfless guys in their ranks.

Kohli rested

Rohit Sharma confirmed at the toss that Virat Kohli will not be playing the first ODI against England, and Shreyas Iyer will take his spot at the number three spot. It was almost confirmed that he will not play the match, and it was confirmed at the toss by the Indian captain.

Virat Kohli suffered a groin injury during the 3rd T20I against England in Nottingham. He also missed the optional training session on Monday at the Oval. It is being said that the injury is not very serious, but he will be required to rest his groin to be fit for the upcoming ODIs.

After the ODI series against England, the Indian team will move to West Indies, and he has been rested for the West Indies as well. Kohli is going through a lean patch of forms, and he would definitely want to be on the track in order to gain some form back with him.

Kohli has not scored a single century in any format of the game since 2019, and he had a rough IPL stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Although, considering the comments from the various sources, Virat should be fit for the remaining two ODIs against England.