Team India captain Virat Kohli was sacked as the ODI captain by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last week and now it has emerged that the batter will not be available for the ODI series against South Africa at the start of next year.
Kohli, who skipped training session in Mumbai on Monday (December 14), has informed the board that he will not be available for ODI series as he intends to celebrate his daughter Vamika’s first birthday with wife Anushka Sharma. Vamika will celebrate her first birthday on January 11, when Kohli will be playing the third Test in Cape Town against South Africa.
Sources in the know of developments confirmed to news agency ANI that Kohli has indeed asked the board for a small break in January next year. "Yes, Kohli has asked for a small break in January to spend some time with his family. It effectively means that he would miss the ODI series against South Africa," the source told news agency ANI.
The final Test of the tour will be played from January 11 to 15. The ODI series will kick off on January 19.
Officials claim Kohli was informed about it, but he chose not to turn up. The BCCI official also informed InsideSport that several calls were made, but he did not receive them.
“Virat was obviously informed. But he hasn’t joined the camp. We expect him to join tomorrow. The players will enter a three-day bio-bubble before traveling to Johannesburg,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport website on Sunday (December 12).
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Rohit Sharma has already been ruled out of the Test series following a hamstring injury, the BCCI informed on Monday. It is not certain if the new ODI skipper will be able to recover in time for the series against South Africa.
