Captains of IPL teams Hardik Pandya (MI) and Sanju Samson (RR) will also fly out to USA later than scheduled; Kohli had informed the BCCI in advance about his delayed departure.
Virat Kohli, a key member of India’s T20 World Cup squad, could miss the team’s only warm up game against Bangladesh on June 1 as he has taken a mini-break from the game post the IPL.
Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals captain, will also leave later than scheduled, and so will Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya. The first batch of Indian team players left on Saturday, while a second is set to fly out on Monday.
Kohli, the current Orange Cap holder with 741 runs, including a century and five fifties, featured in all 15 RCB games, including the Eliminator, which the team lost to Rajasthan Royals. Samson has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that the reason for delaying his departure is ‘personal work in Dubai’.
“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 told The Indian Express.
India captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Mohd Siraj, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and the support staff left Mumbai on Saturday night.
