With Virat Kohli recovering from injury, the star batsman is likely to return for England ODIs

MUMBAI: Virat Kohli has made significant progress in his recovery from a hamstring injury and is on track to return to the Indian squad for the upcoming ODI series in England, TOI has learnt. “Kohli has started rehab and his injury is healing fast. He is expected to report to the BCCI Center of Excellence soon for assessment and clearance. If his recovery goes as planned, Kohli is expected to be back in the squad for the upcoming England series,” said a source.

The BCCI selectors will pick the team soon

India’s ODI squad for the tour of England will be selected later this week.“The selection committee meeting to pick the Indian ODI team for the England tour will be held in the next three to four days,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told TOI on Thursday.The three-match ODI series between India and England will be played from July 14 to 19, with matches in Birmingham, Cardiff and Lord’s scheduled.Kohli, 37, has missed the ongoing home ODI series against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury, replaced by pacer Yashasvi Jaiswal.Superstar batter consults renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwalla, who is based at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai and serves as BCCI’s consultant orthopedic surgeon.

A hamstring injury ruled Kohli out of the Afghanistan series

Kohli suffered a hamstring injury during his unbeaten 75 off 42 balls in the IPL final, which helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru chase down 156 against Gujarat Titans to secure their second consecutive IPL title.Several pictures surfaced online on Tuesday showing Kohli spending time in London, where he currently lives, with England batsman Jordon Cox, his Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate. The meeting came hours before the 25-year-old was named in England’s playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand starting at The Oval on Wednesday.

Agarkar hinted at England’s comeback

Announcing India’s squads for the series against Afghanistan in Mumbai on 6 June, chief selector Ajit Agarkar hinted that Kohli could be fit for the England series, but added that the physio had “no clear timetable” on his return.“With Virat, it’s only been less than a week since he got injured in the IPL final. We don’t know the timelines yet. But it looks like he might be fit for that England one-day series. It’s not a definitive answer, so don’t hold me to it. I haven’t had a clear timeline from the physio yet,” Agarkar said.

Which team do you think will win the ODI series between India and England?

After retiring from T20Is and Tests, Kohli now only plays ODIs for India. His previous appearance came in the January home series against New Zealand where he top scored for India with 240 runs at an average of 80 and a strike rate of 105.26.