Virat Kohli to play County cricket for Surrey

It has been confirmed that Virat Kohli will play County cricket for Surrey. Kohli will feature in County just before India’s tour to England. This move comes from Kohli to give himself a good chance of performing well in the swinging conditions of UK.

Surrey Cricket Club has confirmed that Kohli will play 3 four-day matches for the club in June. This effectively means that Kohli would also miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan to be played on the 14th of June in India.

Following a disastrous Test series in England, Kohli would look to better his record this time around. The Indian skipper would love to improve on his biggest lacuna of fishing outside the line of off stump.

Kohli will play 3 four-day matches during his county stint for Surrey against Hampshire, Somerset and Yorkshire in a bid to prepare well for the series against England. The Indian team is scheduled to tour UK for a 3-match T20 International series, followed by ODIs and the five-match Test series, beginning from July 1.

After the announcement, Kohli expressed his gratitude for Alec Stewart, the Director of Surrey, and said that he was looking forward to the stint.

“It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season. I can’t wait to get to the Kia Oval,” said the Indian Captain.

Stewart returned the favour in kind and welcomed Kohli to the club. “We are thrilled to have signed the biggest name in world cricket for the month of June. Playing and training alongside Virat will be a massive benefit for our players who will have the opportunity to learn so much from him. At a time when there is much discussion around the future of county cricket, the arrival of Virat should give our domestic game a massive boost and positive exposure around the cricketing world which in turn can benefit every county,” Stewart said.