When was the last time Virat Kohli missed an international match due to injury?

India National Cricket Team are playing the first ODI against the England National Cricket Team without the services of premier batter Virat Kohli. The first game of the three-match ODI series between the teams is taking place at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

India National Cricket Team handed debut to Yashasvi Jaiswal for the ongoing first ODI, and at the time when he was presented the cap, there wasn't any hint about who he would replace in the team. However, at the time of the toss, captain Rohit Sharma mentioned that the youngster would be playing in place of Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli missed the ongoing first ODI against the England due to a knee injury

Kohli missed the ongoing first ODI against the England National Cricket Team due to a knee injury. According to Rohit Sharma, the batter faced an injury on the eve of the game and wasn't deemed fit for the first game, which has seen India being asked to bowl first.

Kohli missing the games for the side due to the injury comes as a big surprise because this is something that usually hasn't happened. The batter is arguably the fittest player in the India National Cricket Team, and it has happened very few times in his career that he missed the game due to injury.

When did Virat Kohli last miss the game for India due to injury?

The last time Virat Kohli missed a game for India National Cricket Team due to an injury was way back in 2021. It was during the Test series against the South Africa National Cricket Team when he missed the second game of the three-match Test series.

Kohli faced back spasm ahead of that match and was ruled out with injury. At that time, he was captain of the India National Cricket Team, and in his place, KL Rahul was asked to lead the team, he did a decent job for the team before Kohli was back for the last game.

Since then, the ongoing first ODI against the England National Cricket Team is the first match that Kohli missed for the India National Cricket Team due to injury. The team management would be hoping that he regains his fitness soon and returns to the team for the match of the series. This is just the second time in his career that he missed an ODI match due to an inury.

Virat Kohli, if for the next game, will now have just two matches to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Kohli, if for the next game, will now have just two matches to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The batter's form will be extremely important for the team in the tournament, and hence, the series against England becomes important for him.

The batter has looked out of form in the last few months. He failed badly in Test cricket and also couldn't get going in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 as well. The last ODI came for him was during a game against Sri Lanka, where he failed in all three games.

Also Read: Revealed: Why is Virat Kohli not playing today's match against England?