Sunil Gavaskar believes Virat Kohli doesn’t need county cricket to play well in England

In the first Test at Edgbaston, while Kohli played exceptionally well and showcased a very mature character of high self-determination and great anticipation, not only as a player but also as the skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin succeeded in his craft as well. Their last Test series in England, which was back in 2014, did not meet up with their own as well as the team’s expectations due to which Kohli commented that he should start playing county cricket to gain knowledge and experience about the English wicket conditions which shall help him improvise his game. However, Gavaskar commented that both Kohli and Ashwin already possess qualities of fantastic cricketers. 

“Two of India's best cricketers, skipper Virat Kohli and premier spinner R Ashwin, had unfinished business in England. Their last tour in 2014 was a forgettable one. In the intervening period, both had taken giant leaps towards greatness and had almost reached the summit. The last leg remained and that's invariably the most difficult one to surmount. By the time the first Test was halfway done, both had conquered the peak and cemented their places in the pantheon of greats of the game,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for TOI. 

“In doing so, Kohli made a mockery of the thinking that he needed to play county cricket to get a big score in England. Kohli is an exceptional talent and can get runs even if he wakes up in the middle of the night. More than him, it is the other guys who have lesser talent who needed to spend more time playing against the red ball, as was seen by the way they struggled against the moving ball. Even if India go on to win the Test and the series, the decision to play just one three-day game in the fortnight's gap has clearly not helped the other batsmen. More than Kohli, it's the others who need more time against the red ball. Kohli can't rescue the team every time,” the original Little Master added. 

Virat Kohli’s obvious problems against James Anderson’s away-swingers was the cause of concern for him in India’s last tour to England. However, this time around, the Indian skipper added a shuffle to his movement which helped him move across the stumps fairly easily and the fact that he batted outside of his crease, that helped him negate the swing as well. Gavaskar praised Kohli for showing character against his nemesis and negating him easily. 

“Then it was the Indian skipper's turn to show why he is the best batsman in the world. He was watchful to start with and understandably so as India had lost three wickets in quick succession and Anderson kept probing him with an off-stump line and away swingers. Then he had some luck, as any batsman would require in such conditions.”