Virat Kohli may ditch Surrey to play for India A

Virat Kohli is trying his level best to improve upon his dismal Test record in England. Kohli had a forgettable 2014 tour of England with just 134 runs in 10 games at a minuscule average of 13.40.

However, this time the Indian Captain looks committed to turn around things. He is reportedly considering to even play for India A in order to prepare well ahead of the tour. He may feature for the second tier Indian team for the 4-day Test match against England Lions at Worcester.

Also Read: Virat Kohli unavailable for the first T20I against Ireland, confirms Surrey

News agency PTI has quoted a BCCI official saying that the erratic English weather can play spoilsport and that is the reason why the Indian Captain doesn’t want to miss out any opportunity of preparing for the India’s tour of England.

We might see Kohli skipping the Yorkshire match- BCCI offical

It caused a lot of confusion when the BCCI announced the Indian squad for the two-match T20I series against Ireland, naming Kohli the Captain. The 1st game against Ireland would clash with Surrey’s match against Yorkshire in which Kohli was expected to play.

After Surrey confirmed that Kohli would feature in that match, there were questions that whether the skipper would favour his County stint over national commitments.

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“The situation is pretty fluid right now. There is an arrangement with Surrey which allows Virat to honour his national commitment. So if he gets sufficient match time in the first two games, we might see him skipping the Yorkshire match and play both T20Is. But then there is no guarantee of English weather,” said the BCCI official at the condition of anonymity.

BCCI may request ECB to push game dates

The BCCI is also mindful of the fact that playing too much cricket ahead of the India vs England series may also not be a great move as that can hamper Kohli’s fitness.

Building on the same, there is a possibility that BCCI might request England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to change the dates of India A and England Lion’s 4-day fixture.

India A are scheduled to face the Lions’ on the 16th of July. From the very next day, the final India-England ODI would take place on July 17. To give the Indian players some match practice ahead of the Test series, the Indian board may request the ECB to push the Lions’ game.

“Virat Kohli will be a playing the three-match ODI series first and then will play two county games while further decisions will be taken as per the situation. All we can say at the moment is Virat is playing the three Royal London Cup matches followed by two county games till June 23. Post that, any decision that will be taken will depend on the situation that he will be in,” the BCCI official conveyed to PTI.