Virat Kohli expresses his desire to play county cricket ahead of England tour

Virat Kohli averages 13.40 in Test cricket on English soil.

Virat Kohli | AFP

With the motive to improve his batting performances in England, India skipper Virat Kohli has expressed his desire to play county cricket this year.

Even though Virat has conquered more or less every condition with his willow, he has not been able to perform at his best in England. With just 134 runs in five Test matches at a dismal average of 13.40, doing well in England is a top priority for the India captain.

"Playing county cricket will help me improve my game," Kohli quoted as saying by AFP.

"I think it makes things more challenging and more competitive and there are no guarantees whether you are going to do well even if you go in advance. It's just about giving yourself more opportunity to get used to the conditions that you are not used to,” he added.

About a month ago, it has been widely reported that Kohli would play county cricket for Surrey in June. As per the reports in PTI, Kohli was to miss Afghanistan’s first ever Test match against India in Bengaluru from June 14 and instead he was to head to the south of London after the conclusion of IPL 2018.

Reports also suggested that Virat will make himself available for Surrey’s three four-day matches against Hampshire, Somerset and Yorkshire between June 9 and June 28.

In fact, Surrey's director of cricket – Alec Stewart had also expressed interest in signing the Indian captain.

“I did enquire a while back about Kohli when it appeared to be a possible option for him to play county cricket but was told India were playing Ireland in T20s and an inaugural Test against Afghanistan in June before the England tour. If he does now become available we would look at it again to see if it could potentially work around our current overseas arrangements,” Stewart had told Telegraph.co.uk.

India’s tour of England will kick off from July 3 where they will play three T20Is and as many ODIs before featuring in a five-match Test series from August 1.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 19 Apr, 2018

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