Virat Kohli Ruled Out of Afghanistan ODIs, Rohit Sharma Doubtful

"Official communication will come on that": India's assistant coach on Virat, Rohit's injury concerns ahead of Afghanistan ODIs

New Chandigarh, June 4

In what comes as disappointing news for Team India fans, star batter Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the Afghanistan ODI series due to a hamstring injury. What makes things even worse is that, Rohit Sharma is also doubtful for the ODI series and could miss the three-match assignment, as per the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sources.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test, slated to start on Saturday, Doeschate said that official updates will be shared once the medical team completes their assessment of Virat and Rohit Rohit's fitness.

"Official communication will come on that. It's obviously big news when it's someone like Virat or Rohit, but the same protocols will be in place. We'll assess the fitness of those guys and we've got a few days now to decide whether they're fit enough to play and be part of the squad and make adjustments accordingly. But I'm sure some official communication will come through as soon as the medical team has made a decision on that," he said.

Notably, Virat was seen struggling while running during the final stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) final against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 30 at Ahmedabad, but took his team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) through in a tricky 156-run chase with a 42-ball 75*. He finished the IPL as the fourth-highest run-getter and RCB's top-scorer with 675 runs in 16 innings.

Speaking on whether injuries to centrally contracted players during the IPL disrupts Team India's plans, Doeschate said that managing injuries has to be handled on a case-by-case basis. He highlighted the need to balance the demands of the IPL with ensuring players are in peak condition for international cricket, adding that despite heavy workloads, India have managed the situation reasonably well.

"I think it's a very individualistic thing. You know, with the Indian hats on, we want the players to be at their absolute best when they're on international duty, and that's a case of managing it case by case. So I appreciate that it's a big time of year for those players. The IPL is a showpiece domestic competition, so it's striking a balance between those two things. I think with the workload guys had going into that last IPL, or certainly a large proportion of the contracted players, I think we've done fairly well out of it," he said.

He stressed the importance of planning around key international fixtures to ensure India's best players are not only injury-free but also in peak physical condition when needed most.

"You know, injuries happen. You can't protect guys by not playing them, but we certainly need to identify the key parts of the international schedule and make sure our best players are, uninjured, but also physically at their peak when we need them the most," he added.

— ANI