Virat Kohli could miss debut of New York stadium in the T20 World Cup 2024
The first batch of the Indian team has left for the T20 World Cup 2024 and Virat Kohli has not travelled with them.
Star India batter Virat Kohli could miss the team's only warm-up game, which is scheduled to be played against Bangladesh on June 1 at New York. This game is expected to be the first full-fledged (although a warm-up) match at the newly built stadium.
The first batch of the Indian team has already left for the T20 World Cup 2024 on Saturday. The batch included the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and many more including the head coach Rahul Dravid and the support staff.
The second batch will fly out on Monday, which will include Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Sanju Samson. According to the reports, Samson had asked the BCCI to delay his departure as he has some 'personal work in Dubai.'
Here is why Virat Kohli will miss the debut of New York stadium
According to the report from The Indian Express, Kohli has taken a mini-break post the IPL before travelling to New York for the marquee tournament. The 35-year-old had already informed the BCCI way before that he will be joining the team late.
“Kohli had informed us way beforehand that he will be joining the team late and that is why the BCCI has kept his visa appointment for a later date. He is expected to fly out to New York in the early morning of May 30th. The BCCI has agreed to his request,” a BCCI official said.
Virat Kohli is one of the key members of India's squad and is likely to play a crucial role in the upcoming T20 World Cup. He was in sparkling form in IPL 2024, where he scored 741 runs in 15 matches at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69. He also scored a century this season.
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India will begin its T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland on June 5 at New York. They will next play arch-rivals Pakistan in a big clash on June 9. India won the inaugural season of T20 World Cup in 2007. But since then, have failed to lift the trophy despite coming close on several occasions.
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