Fact Check: Virat Kohli Misses First T20I Against Afghanistan Due To Vamika’s Third Birthday?

New Delhi: Virat Kohli is set to miss the first T20I between Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team and Ibrahim Zadran’s Afghanistan at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, on January 11. India’s head coach Rahul Dravid revealed that Kohli will not be playing in this match due to personal reasons.

Speculations are being made that Virat is missing the Mohali T20I because he will be spending time with him family on Vamika’s third birthday. Kohli is known to be a family man and he spends a lot of time with his family when he is away from the cricketing field.

The series opener is scheduled to take place in Mohali on January 11, but Kohli, a stalwart of Indian cricket, will join the squad for the subsequent T20Is in Indore and Bengaluru on January 14 and 17, respectively.

Speaking of Rohit Sharma, he was not only included in the T20I squad but also bestowed with the captaincy role for the series against Afghanistan. The decision to appoint Rohit as the captain marked a strategic move as India aims to build momentum in the shortest format of the game.

The return of both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to T20I cricket follows weeks of speculation about their future in the format. Having last played a T20I together in November 2022 during the T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide, their focus shifted towards ODIs and Tests in the 50-over World Cup year of 2023.

Rohit, too, wasn’t present during the training session on the eve of the game, but Dravid confirmed that for now, the team management will stick to the combination of Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers.

“When you have a squad and a team, you have that flexibility to do whatever is required if that is in the best interest of the team and if that gives you a chance to succeed. Nothing is closed, but we are certainly happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us and that gives us the left and right combination at the top,” Dravid said.