India batter Virat Kohli may not be part of the playing XI for the first ODI against England which will be played at the Oval, London on July 12, 2022, as he reportedly suffered a groin injury during the third and final T20I in Nottingham on July 10.
The extent of Kohli's niggle is still not known, but the Indian team management wouldn't mind giving the 33-year-old veteran a break so that he is available for the next two games at Lord's (July 14) and Manchester (July 17).
''Virat had a groin strain during the 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 told PTI.
It has been learnt 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.
On Monday, players who were selected for the ODI series- Shikhar Dhawan, Shardul Thakur, and Prasidh Krishna- had an optional practice session at the Oval ground.
Kohli’s injury might also be the reason why the BCCI postponed the announcement of the India T20I squad for the West Indies tour for the five matches to be played in the Caribbean and the USA.
It has also been reported that the BCCI has decided to fly the Indian squad to the West Indies by a special charter flight from Manchester to Port of Spain due to the COVID-19 threat.
'The Indian team will be taking a charter flight to the Caribbean,'' the source informed.
(PTI inputs)
