New Delhi. Before the start of the T-20 series in Ireland, the Indian team has received great news. Virat Kohli is all set to make a comeback in international cricket as he has successfully passed his fitness test at BCCI’s Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru and will soon leave for London for the ODI series.
The former Indian captain was included in the team for the three-match ODI series against England next month, but there was a condition attached regarding his fitness. Kohli had suffered a hamstring injury while playing against Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final, due to which his availability was dependent on medical clearance.
Virat got the green signal
Now Kohli himself has put an end to all the worries. According to sources, Kohli has completed the necessary fitness test and is expected to get formal approval from the BCCI medical team soon. If no unexpected problems arise, 37-year-old Kohli will be available for the ODI series starting from July 14. Kohli’s return is coming at the right time for India. The 2027 ODI World Cup, which is to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, is slowly getting closer. In such a situation, every ODI series becomes very important, especially because India does not play many matches in this format anymore. The conditions in England will also be similar to the upcoming big tournaments, which makes this series more important.
Indian batsmen’s form is excellent
Recently India defeated Afghanistan 3-0, but Kohli did not play in this series. In his absence, Yashasvi Jaiswal performed brilliantly and scored a century in Chennai. Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan also batted well. Rohit Sharma also performed well, although he missed a half-century in the second ODI and a century in the third. Despite the excellent performance of the young players, there is no player like Virat Kohli in the team. He is considered the greatest batsman of ODI cricket. Even at the age of 37, his performance continues to be excellent.
The Indian squad for the ODI series against England is as follows:
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar.
Kohli’s magic in ODI from 2024
Since the beginning of 2024, no one except Rohit Sharma has scored more runs than Kohli in ODIs. Kohli has scored 949 runs in 19 innings, in which his average was 59.31. During this period he has scored four centuries and five half-centuries. However, Rohit Sharma has scored 1011 runs while playing four more innings. Kohli last played an ODI against New Zealand in January, where he was India’s most successful batsman by scoring 240 runs.
Schedule of ODI series against England:
1st ODI – 14 July 2026, Edgbaston, Birmingham – 3:30 PM
2nd ODI – 16 July 2026, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff – 5:30 PM
3rd ODI – 19 July 2026, Lord’s, London – 3:30 PM
Kohli was in great form in IPL 2026 and he scored an unbeaten 75 runs in the final to help Royal Challengers Bangalore win their second consecutive title. Although he suffered a hamstring injury during the same match, due to which he was ruled out of the Afghanistan series, but now his recovery has been completely successful. Since last week, reports were coming that Kohli is making good progress during rehab and the medical team is satisfied with his fitness. The fitness test conducted on Monday is proof of that. Now all eyes will be on his return, where he will once again emerge as the backbone of the Indian team’s batting.
