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Kuljyot Singh

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Virat Kohli is not playing India vs England 1st ODI

India vs England: Why is Virat Kohli not playing IND vs ENG 1st ODI? Check India playing 11

Virat Kohli is not playing India vs England 1st ODI (Credits: BCCI/X)

In a massive breaking news development, star batsman Virat Kohli is not playing the India vs England 1st ODI encounter being hosted at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Hosts India will be looking forward to continue their sensational form in the white-ball formats after a brilliant 4-1 T20I series victory over the visiting England team. On the other hand, the IND vs ENG three-match ODI series will be a great preparation for both these teams ahead of the all-important ICC Champions Trophy 2025 set to be hosted in Pakistan and Dubai. Incidentally, Team India will be playing their first ODI match after August 2024 where they lost to Sri Lanka 0-2 in the three-match ODI series.

Why is Virat Kohli not playing today's India vs England 1st ODI?

After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, Indian captain Rohit Sharma revealed the big update that Virat Kohli is not part of the India playing XI in this opening ODI game against England. The skipper further stated that their premier batter is nursing an injury issues in his right knee and wasn't available for selection in the India vs England 1st ODI match on Thursday. Virat has not witnessed the best of forms recently especially in the longer format of the game. Despite a brilliant century in the first Test of the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, Kohli managed to score just 190 runs in the five-match Test series. He was also dismissed cheaply on his recent return to Ranji Trophy cricket after a span of more than 12 years. 

However, Kohli's absence has helped swashbuckling batter Yashasvi Jaiswal earn his ODI debut cap in the first game against England in Nagpur. The left-handed opener looked in an impressive form during the Test series in Australia where he smacked a total of 391 runs at an average of 43.44 that included two half-centuries and one hundred. On the other hand, Jaiswal has also performed incredibly well in his short T20I career, having composed 723 runs from 23 T20I games at a remarkable strike-rate of close to 165. It will be really interesting to see the composition of India's top order as the trio of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are specialist openers in white-ball cricket. 

"We wanted to bowl first, but it doesn't matter a lot. Need to be aggressive with the ball at the start and then need to do well later. Nice to get some time off, it's a fresh start and this is a great chance to do well. It's very important to get some gametime, try and maximize whatever opportunity we have. Jaiswal and Harshit are making their debuts, unfortunately Virat isn't playing, he had a knee problem last night," said Indian captain Rohit Sharma during the toss. 

India playing 11

1. Rohit Sharma
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal
3. Shubman Gill
4. Shreyas Iyer
5. KL Rahul (wk)
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Axar Patel
9. Kuldeep Yadav
10. Harshit Rana
11. Mohammed Shami

This is also the first time since the 2023 Asia Cup encounter against Bangladesh, that Virat Kohli has missed an ODI game for India. The former Indian captain missed a recent Ranji Trophy match for Delhi due to a neck injury and now this knee injury might prove to be big setback to India's campaign ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. However, it remains to be seen how critical is Virat's injury and whether he will be available during the remaining two India vs England ODI matches or not. 

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