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Team India has suffered a major setback before the ODI series against Afghanistan starting from June 13. According to media reports, veteran batsman Virat Kohli is out of this series due to injury. News agency PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying that Kohli will not be able to play in the ODI series against Afghanistan due to hamstring injury.

Kohli is going through excellent form. In such a situation, his exclusion is a big blow for the Indian team. Earlier this year, he scored 240 runs in 3 matches against New Zealand. After this, he scored more than 600 runs with his bat in IPL 2026. Kohli was expected to perform well in the Afghanistan series too but he got injured. Know about those 3 names who can replace him.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad may have had a quiet bat in IPL 2026, but he will be at the forefront of the players to replace Kohli. He proved himself as a middle order batsman by playing an excellent century in the Raipur ODI against South Africa at the end of last year. Rituraj has been selected as the replacement for Riyan Parag in the India-A team. He may be stopped for the Afghanistan series before going on Sri Lanka tour. Rituraj has experience of 9 One Day International matches.

Tilak Verma

Left-handed batsman Tilak Verma has been given the command of the India-A team going on the tour of Sri Lanka. He is also among the main contenders to replace Kohli. Tilak was included in the Indian ODI team for the South Africa series last year. He was also included in the playing XI in the last match of this series. Although his turn to bat did not come. 23 year old Tilak has played 5 One Day International matches so far.

Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal, who is scoring runs in domestic cricket, has not been selected in the India A team for the ODI tri-series being held in Sri Lanka. In such a situation, the selectors can also consider his name. This left-handed batsman, who played an important role in the title win of Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2026, has played 2 ODI matches so far. Padikkal has experience of 42 List-A matches, in which he has scored 2796 runs at an average of 82.23.