Virat Kohli was the ‘Player of the Match’ for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 final after scoring an unbeaten 75 against Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
Updated: June 4, 2026, 11:02 AM IST
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Virat Kohli has injured his hamstring while playing for RCB in IPL 2026 season. (Photo: IANS)
India vs Afghanistan 2026: Former India captain Virat Kohli was enjoying the high of winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) title for the second successive season, leading the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to win in IPL 2026 final with a brilliant unbeaten 75 against Gujarat Titans on Sunday. But days after the IPL 2026 final, there is some bad news for the fans of Vira Kohli as the star batter is set to ruled out of three-match ODI series against Afghanistan starting in Dharamshala on June 13.
In what will be a huge blow for Shubman Gill’s Team India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) indicate that Kohli has been ruled out of the ODI series with a hamstring injury. “He is out of the ODI series due to a hamstring injury,” a BCCI was quoted as saying by PTI.
Kohli has been known for his unmatched fitness even after turning 37 years of age, was in stunning form in the IPL 2026 season, scoring 675 runs in 17 matches with a strike-rate of over 165. With Kohli ruled out, there is doubt over the participation of another former captain – Rohit Sharma – in the ODI series as well.
It remains to be seen if Rohit Sharma is available for the whole series against Afghanistan as he has to travel to BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru to get clearance to play in the ODIs after suffering from a hamstring injury in IPL 2026 while turning out for Mumbai Indians.
He was included in the squad subject to fitness after a hamstring injury affected his IPL 2026 appearances with MI.
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Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had both got injured in MI vs RCB match
Both former India captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had got injured in Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium in April. After the MI vs RCB match on April 12, Rohit’s next IPL 2026 appearance came on May 4 against Lucknow Super Giants. MI opener Rohit ended up scoring only 283 runs in 9 matches with a strike-rate of 157.22 with 2 fifties out of 14 games played by his team.
Apart from Kohli and Rohit, MI captain and all-rounder Hardik Pandya also remains doubtful for the Afghanistan ODI series due to back spasms. Pandya is set to report at BCCI’s CoE later this week for taking part in fitness drills and proving his fitness to get selected for the ODI series.
Kohli has scored 14797 runs in 311 games in ODI cricket with record 54 centuries and 77 fifties at an average of 58.71 with a strike-rate of 93.82. In the 2026 season, Kohli has scored 240 runs in 3 matches at an average of 80 with a strike-rate of 105.26 with 1 century and 1 fifty to his name.
The Indian cricket fans will be hoping that Kohli will regain his fitness for the three-match ODI series against England in the UK next month.
