Virat Kohli arrives in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of West Indies ODI series
Virat Kohli arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, September 23, to join the Indian team ahead of the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, with fans gathering at the airport to see the former captain.
India will open the series at the Greenfield International Stadium on September 27 as part of preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup; more than 35,000 public tickets for the Thiruvananthapuram match were sold within 24 hours of going on sale, according to Kerala Kaumudi. The three ODIs are scheduled for Thiruvananthapuram (September 27), Guwahati (September 30) and Mullanpur (October 3), and the white-ball programme will be followed by five T20Is.
Kohli, who is based in London with his family, landed at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and was escorted through the terminal by security personnel before travelling to the team hotel. At the hotel he was shown a traditional welcome by staff, and supporters and photographers captured his arrival.
Broadcasters and fan accounts promoted Kohli's arrival on social media, with supporters sharing images of him at the team hotel. Coverage included reminders of the upcoming series and the first-match arrangements.
The renewed public interest in the series has been attributed to the return of Kohli and Rohit Sharma to India's ODI squad; both players featured on India's limited-overs tour of England in June-July and are expected to play in the West Indies series. Both Kohli and Rohit retired from Test cricket last year but have continued to play ODIs, and reports ahead of India's Lord's match earlier this year suggested the selection committee had considered moving towards Yashasvi Jaiswal; Kohli and Rohit were retained for the current West Indies assignment.
West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder praised Kohli ahead of the series, saying: "When you look at Virat, he is arguably the best player, the best one-day batsman to ever play the game, and one of the best batters to ever play the game," Holder told JioStar.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir underlined Kohli's value to a side led in the 50-over format by Shubman Gill and addressed the challenge of selection. "In ODIs, he (Gill) is very fortunate that he has got the likes of Rohit and Virat to help him on and off the field," Gambhir said. He added: "Leaving out anyone in Indian cricket from the playing eleven is always going to be tough. But when you have to do that as a young captain, it is probably the toughest job for any coach and captain to do it. So far, he has done that. He has actually ticked all the boxes," and later said, "I feel that he has done all the right things... he has had a bit of a tough time in One Day cricket. But I am sure, I think things will turn around because he has done all the right things."
Star Sports promoted Kohli's availability for the opener with the scheduling details "1st ODI SUN, 27th SEP, 1 PM," confirming the start time for the Thiruvananthapuram fixture.