As Saturday evening unfolded, the inaugural contingent of Indian players embarked on their journey to the United States, setting the stage for the impending T20 World Cup 2024, which is slated to commence next month. Accompanying the departure from Mumbai were Captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, and a select few players.
Surprisingly, former Indian captain Virat Kohli left everyone surprised by not being part of the first batch of departure.
Virat Kohli’s absence in warm-up game
Players from Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 squads, whose teams did not make it to the playoffs this season, were initially set to depart for New York on May 25, constituting a group of 10 individuals. However, later updates revealed that players from teams exiting early in the IPL 2024 knockout stage would also be included in the travel plans. This expansion meant renowned figures like Kohli and Mohammed Siraj from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were expected to join the initial batch.
Despite Siraj’s presence among Rohit and the other Indian players bound for New York, Kohli was notably absent from the group. Among the players included in the travel contingent were Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, along with Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and others.
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The reason behind Kohli’s absence
As reported by the Indian Express, a representative from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shed light on Kohli’s absence from the initial departure. Kohli informed the BCCI of his prior commitments in New York, with plans to travel there on the morning of May 30th. With India set to play a warm-up match on June 1st, it seems probable that Kohli will miss this match due to his late departure.
“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,” said a BCCI official to Indian Express.
