Aakash Chopra Picks Yashasvi Jaiswal As Virat Kohli's Replacement For Afghanistan ODIs

India will be without the services of Virat Kohli for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. Kohli is down with a hamstring injury and is set to miss the complete series. The former India captain suffered the injury during the IPL 2026 final, where he played a match-winning knock for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Kohli was struggling to run between the wickets and relied more on hitting boundaries towards the end of the game.

The selectors are likely to name Kohli's replacement when they announce the squad for the Ireland and England series on Saturday (June 6). Before the selectors name his replacement, Aakash Chopra has made his pick. Speaking on his Facebook page, the former India opener picked Yashasvi Jaiswal. Though he doesn't want him to bat at number 3.

Chopra wants Ishan Kishan to be India's number 3 in the playing XI. Kishan replaced Rishabh Pant and made his ODI comeback after three years. He has batted at different positions in white-ball cricket. He has scored 933 runs in 24 ODIs.

He scored a double century in his second outing as an opener. Kishan hasn't played an ODI since the 2023 WC. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dropped from ODI team Yashavi Jaiswal was dropped from the ODI team despite slamming a century in his previous outing against South Africa in December 2025. He scored a match-winning century in the third and final ODI of the series.

Jaiswal lost his place in the playing XI upon Shubman Gill's return. He remained on the bench in the series against New Zealand and was dropped for the Afghanistan series. He remains a regular member of the Test team and will open the innings in the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Jaiswal hasn't played a T20I since 2024.

He was rested for the T20I series against England early in 2025 and was later dropped. He was a member of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team but didn't get to play a game. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, IPL 2026, IPL Points Table, and around the Sports.