Indian captain Virat Kohli is gearing for the England tour with alot sobriety as he decides to go an extra yard for the stern English test ahead. Kohli has opted for short county stint post the IPL 2018 to help prepare for test series, beginning 1st August, the Times of India have reported. In the process, Kohli will miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan at Bengaluru and focus solely on the England tour where the men in blue will play a five-Test series, three T20Is and a three-match ODI series.
Kohli will turn out for Surrey in June and play his home games at the Kia Oval in London. Surrey are listed to play three four day games in June against the likes of Hampshire, Somerset and Yorkshire, all of which Kohli is expected to play.
“Virat will be playing for a division one county side for sure. I wouldn’t like to add anything more to it. There were talks with Surrey and Essex,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.
The move arrives after India suffered a test series defeat in South Africa 2-1. The reason for the failure in the Proteas land may have been the lack of preparation and not arriving early. This may be in Kohli’s back of mind, as he goes one step smarter to get used to English conditions before the all important encounter starts with Joe Root led English side.
Kohli didn’t have a great Test series in England in 2014 when he failed to get even a single half century. The man from Delhi managed to score just 134 runs in five Tests at an average of 13.40 with two ducks to his name. The series raised questions on Kohli’s presence in the white clothes for India and it could have been a career ending series for Kohli. However, his good run of form in Australia, later, again got the belief back in selectors as well as the fans.
India’s test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara will be turning up for Yorkshire while Ishant Sharma will be playing for Durham. Some of the other players are also expected to turn up with India “A” in England.
