Virat Kohli likely to miss first ODI against England, sustains groin strain

Virat Kohli missed the optional practice on Monday and is likely to miss the first ODI against England at the Oval on Tuesday. 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 the first ODI tomorrow at the Oval as the groin needs rest," a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

According to a report in news agency PTI, Kohli didn't travel from Nottingham to London on the team bus and the reason could be a stopover to get a medical check-up done to assess his



condition.

Kohli's place in the T20 side is being questioned repeatedly by the experts, including former greats like Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag, although skipper Rohit Sharma has firmly backed his long-time colleague.

According to people privy to the developments in the India camp, Kohli has asked for a rest from the entire West Indies series. In the event he is not part of the squad, whether that will be termed "rest" or "dropped" will be a matter of conjecture.

On Monday, only the players selected for the ODIs -- Shikhar Dhawan, Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna -- had an optional net session at the Oval ground in London.

This could also be the reason for the postponement of the Indian team selection for the five-match T20I series in the West Indies and the USA. The team will be announced on Tuesday.