Why is Virat Kohli not playing today?

Seasoned Team India batter Virat Kohli is not part of the squad for the first T20I against New Zealand, which is being played at the JSCA International Stadium Complex Ranchi on Friday, January 27. The former India skipper will not be seen in the entire three-match T20I series against the Kiwis.

Both Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma are missing from the Indian team for the T20Is against New Zealand. And so, all-rounder Hardik Pandya is leading the side in the T20I series against the Kiwis.

Since Kohli was not picked in the Indian team for T20Is against Sri Lanka as well, there were question marks over whether the Indian management and selectors were looking beyond him as far as the 20-over format was concerned.

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid, however, clarified at a press conference a few days back that the 34-year-old was being rested as part of the think tank’s workload management policy. Responding to a query on Kohli’s absence from recent T20I squads, Dravid explained:

“There’s certain priority we need to give to certain white-ball tournaments at particular stages of time. With the amount to cricket we are playing - the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the World Test Championship - there are certain white-ball tournaments that we have to prioritize.

“The priority after the T20 World Cup has been these six (ODI) games and Virat has played all these six games. He will get a break, along with Rohit and one or two other guys in the next week while we play some T20 cricket. They come refreshed on the 2nd and we have a good week’s camp before we play Australia. So we just have to prioritize certain formats.”

Kohli had an underwhelming ODI series against New Zealand, registering scores of eight, 11, and 36 even as the Men in Blue thumped the Kiwis 3-0.

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When did Virat Kohli last play a T20I match?

Kohli hasn’t played a T20I match for Team India since the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 against England at the Adelaide Oval on November 10. The right-handed batter struck 50 off 40 balls, hitting four fours and a six.

India put up a competitive 168/6 on the board in their 20 overs after losing the toss and being sent in to bat. England gunned down the target in 16 overs as Jos Buttler slammed 80* off 49 and Alex Hales 86* off 47.

Overall, Kohli is the leading run-getter in T20Is, with 4008 runs in 115 matches at an average of 52.73 and a strike rate of 137.96.