Virat Kohli Doubtful For Champions Trophy 2025? India Sweats Over Veteran’s Fitness

For the first 10 years of his career, Virat Kohli missed an ODI game only 20 times. In the last four years, the number has gone up to 25. The latest of them was the first of the three-match ODI series against England at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

The last 50-over clash at this venue took place against Australia in 2019, just before the World Cup in the same year. The wait has been huge for the fans, who turned up in huge numbers to support their side and get a glimpse of their favorite batter.

Virat Kohli’s recent fixtures in 2025

The Delhi batter didn’t enjoy a great time in 2025. He started with a tough time during the fifth and final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Runs didn’t come off his blade as India lost the series by a 3-1 margin and got disqualified from the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final.

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The veteran struggled with neck spasms during the encounter. Many senior players turned up for the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 group games for their respective sides before the ODI series against England. Kohli missed Delhi’s sixth encounter against Saurashtra at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, as Rishabh Pant made his presence in that game.

But the 36-year-old returned to the red-ball domestic fixture after nearly 13 years. The Arun Jaitley Stadium turned into a festive mood when Virat Kohli walked out to bat on the second morning. Runs didn’t spice up the environment much. He began with a straight drive for a boundary before missing the in-swinging delivery from Himanshu Sangwan to find his stumps cartwheeling.

Virat Kohli’s swelled knee concerns India’s team management

The toughest athlete of the game geared up for the first ODI against the Jos Buttler-le side but walked into the match drills with his right knee heavily strapped. After moving with a slightly lower intensity, he hobbled a bit with the physio, Kamlesh Jain, keeping a close watch on his movements.

It didn’t seem like he would be out of action with the injury. India celebrated their cap presentation ceremony of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harshit Rana. Many predicted that perhaps the thought process was to drop an all-rounder or Shreyas Iyer.

But all speculations found life when Rohit Sharma, after putting to field first, informed that Virat Kohli would miss the contest with injury. It might not be serious as of now, but the it surely is a concern for the selectors, team management and the fans ahead of the eight-team tournament.

The team’s support staff revealed that the decision to rest Virat was taken late on Wednesday night when Rohit walked into Shreyas Iyer’s room to inform his inclusion in the side.

“His right knee was fine during practice, but once we got back to the hotel, it swelled up. It doesn’t seem that bad, though. He will play the Cuttack ODI in all likelihood.” The insider expressed, as quoted by the Times of India (TOI).

Virat Kohli’s recent injuries

The 36-year-old has yet to undergo scans. It will be interesting to see if Virat Kohli now visits the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for a quick check-up before accompanying the team to Cuttack for the second encounter.

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The last time the veteran missed a game due to injury was in 2022. An upper back spasm ruled him out of the second Test against South Africa. Before that, in 2021, a stiff back put him out of the County XI warm-up contest.

India is already sweating over Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness ahead of the 50-over competition. Kohli’s injury won’t be a good start for them in the event before the opening clash against Bangladesh on February 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.