Reports: Virat Kohli likely to miss Surrey county stint due to injury concern

The injury has come at a time when Kohli was set to travel England  – a country where he struggled in 2014, managing to score only 134 runs in five Tests at an average of 13.4. Kohli struggled against the swinging ball there and fell prey to England’s pace spearhead James Anderson four times in that series, which had led him to opt for a county stint and get acclimatized to the English conditions over the historic Afghanistan Test back home.

However, after the hectic IPL season where he led team Royal Challengers Bangalore, the 29-year-old visited a leading orthopedic surgeon in Khar, Mumbai, as reported by TOI, where the situation came into notice. The surgeon and the team of doctors at the hospital have now advised him not to go ahead with the County stint as it might worsen the situation with his slipped disc, which seems to have damaged some nerves as well. It is believed that non-stop cricket over the last 12 months has resulted in Kohli's injury and fatigue.

The doctors, however, were certain that the injury was not serious enough to warrant a surgery. But things are not looking clear and if the Indian skipper doesn’t recover in time, he might even miss the Test series against England. While Kohli was not available for comment a BCCI official, who is aware of the incident, stated that the Board was relieved that the cricketer wouldn’t undergo a surgery.

“Kohli was not to feature in the historic maiden Test match against Afghanistan next month, and now with this injury, his county stint will not take off either,” the official said. 

Kohli has been one of the players whose workload has been cause for concern for the BCCI - the others being pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Over the next 18 months starting with the tour to England and the World Cup, Team India will get only 14 days of proper rest.

Reports have suggested Kohli has conveyed to the Surrey County Cricket Club about his unavailability, but a spokesperson from the club noted that he was not aware of such news.