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Virat Kohli has not been picked for the first India vs England ODI on Thursday. The ODI is one of the only three matches that India will be playing ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025, that starts on February 19, and Kohli missing the game comes as a major blow for the Rohit Sharma-led team. Already the team is dealing with the injury of Jasprit Bumrah, with his availability in question. Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami are also coming back after a long injury break.
India captain Rohit Sharma said at the toss: "Jaiswal and Harshit are making their debuts, unfortunately Virat isn't playing, he had a knee problem last night." The visuals painted a grim picture. Videos showed Kohli walking gingerly with a heavily strapped right knee. The extent of the injury is not known but Gautam Gambhir's Indian cricket team management is clearly not taking a chance.
The 36-year-old's presence in the match was highly anticipated as despite his Test struggles, there is very little doubt about Virat's greatness in ODIs. Since the 2023-start, he has made 1,435 runs in 30 ODIs at an average of 65.22, with six centuries and eight fifties. His best score is 166*. His strike rate is 98.42.
He top-scored during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup (both tournament and in all-time lists), with 765 runs in 11 matches at an average of 95.62, with three matches and six fifties, winning the 'Player of the Tournament' award. During the Sri Lanka ODIs last year, he could score just 58 runs in three innings, with best score of 24.
India captain Rohit Sharma would have bowled first on winning the toss. "We would have bowled first, but regardless of the toss, it's about executing our plans. Now that we're bowling first, we aim to start aggressively and set the tone early. It's good to be back after a break, it's time to reflect and refocus.
England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami.