Virat Kohli would set very bad precedent if he skips Afghanistan Test : BCCI

When Virat Kohli decided that he is going to go to England and play County cricket ahead of the all-important England tour, a lot of people applauded him for his decision. It would help him understand the conditions better and help him get better considering Kohli had a terrible trip to England last time around where he scored just 134 runs in 10 innings in the 5-match Test series. Hence, he wanted to play County cricket to get accustomed to the conditions and he is expected to play for Surrey in June. That means that Kohli might be missing the historic first Test against Afghanistan which is scheduled to take place between June 14 and 18. 

However, that decision has not gone down with the BCCI as they feel the Indian skipper needs to prioritize the Afghanistan Test match ahead of his county stint. A BCCI official felt that it would set a bad precedent and would send a wrong message to their opponents, Afghanistan who will be playing their first-ever Test match. 

“If a decision has been taken to allow the India captain to miss an international game and play County cricket at that point of time, it would set a very bad precedent. It would give a very bad message to the visiting Afghanistan team; that maybe the opponents aren’t worthy for us. It would be disrespectful to the Afghanistan team and also, it would be unfair on the broadcaster. (Even if) he is playing in England at that time, he can come back for one Test and then fly back. And if he is so keen to play County cricket, has he sought permission to miss his IPL games?” a BCCI official was quoted saying by TOI. 

Thus, Kohli’s county stint is now in doubt as he needs to alter his plans. However, Committee of Administrators (CoA) appointed by the Supreme Court wants the Test specialists to get accustomed to the English conditions before the team embarks on a tough tour of England. The tour includes five Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. Hence, the CoA wanted the key players to either play County cricket or play the India ‘A’ games ahead of the tour.