NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli will replace injured India opener Gautam Gambhir for the one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka, the Indian cricket board said here on Thursday.

Gambhir strained his groin muscle and will return home from Colombo to rest for 10 days, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

India are already without Gambhir's explosive opening partner Virender Sehwag, who is recuperating from a shoulder injury.

Gambhir's injury is likely to throw him into doubt for the Champions Trophy, set to begin in South Africa on September 22.

Kohli, 20, played the last of his five one-day internationals against Sri Lanka in August 2008.

India open their campaign against New Zealand on Friday and play the hosts the next day. Each side will play two league matches before the top two make it to the final on September 14.

India's squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Rudra Pratap Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar.