Virat Kohli prioritizes county stint over Afghanistan Test to prepare for England tour
Virat Kohli will not lead the Indian team in the historic Test match against debutants Afghanistan, which is going to take place in June. The Indian skipper has instead decided to play county cricket for Surrey, as he eyes to acclimatize the English conditions ahead of India's tough tour.
Nobody can commit Virat Kohli’s commitment when it comes to proving his mettle in overseas conditions. Prior to the South Africa series, he had asked the team management to prepare similar pitches as in Proteas, to get accustomed to the bounce and pace on it. It worked wonders as apart from a 2-1 loss in the Test series, India floored South Africa in the limited-overs format.
Now, with a trickier England tour coming up in July this year, Kohli has to take more serious preparations. England has been the only place where Kohli has failed to make any significant contribution as he has scored a total of 134 runs in four Tests at an average of 13. Critics have always held this record as a black mark on the player’s career and it would be a glorious chance for the skipper to prove them wrong.
Hence, the Indian skipper has decided to give the historic Afghanistan Test a miss, which is scheduled to be played in Bengaluru from June 14 to 18. After the completion of the Indian Premier League in May, Kohli would directly head to South London to join Surrey.
Meanwhile, it has been also reported that Cheteshwar Pujara will also extend his stay at Yorkshire for two more months and if that happens, he might go up against Kohli when Surrey and Yorkshire meet in June. Surrey is scheduled to play three four-day matches between June 9 to 28. They will play Hampshire, Somerset and Yorkshire.