BCCI creates bedlam after naming Virat Kohli for the tour of Ireland

Ireland T20Is will be played on June 27 and 29; while Kohli plays his final county match from June 25-28.

Virat Kohli has been named in the team to play two T20Is against Ireland in Dublin

India skipper Virat Kohli was rightly missing from the list of names for the historic Test match against Afghanistan. He will be playing for the English County Surrey to prepare for the upcoming tour to England in July.

However, in the latest released list of players for the tour of Ireland for two T20Is, BCCI named Virat Kohli and created a situation of confusion, since the two T20Is clash with his county stint.

According to reports BCCI corridors that the section which wasn’t happy with Kohli skipping the one-off Test match against Afghanistan has played a role in cutting short his county stint in favor of the T20 Internationals against the minnows.

India is set to play two T20s against Ireland in Dublin’s Malahide on June 27 and 29 while Kohli is scheduled to play his last county match for Surrey against Yorkshire at Scarborough from June 25 to 28.

India captain Virat Kohli will play for Surrey during the entire month of June,” was announced by Surrey County.

Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad was attempted to be contacted by PTI for a clarification whether it was a clerical error, he said: “Kindly talk to the BCCI secretary on this issue.”

BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary was asked, he replied. “Be rest assured, everything is fine,” was all he said.

If the selectors have picked him for the Ireland T20s despite the county dates being available, it means that he will not play the game against Yorkshire. This cannot be a unilateral decision as the county contracts have been inked after much deliberation. Playing against Ireland means that he will get only two county games. It will be very interesting to know why has there been a change in Virat’s schedule if England Tests are paramount,” wondered a senior BCCI official when apprised of the situation.

Surrey agreeing to the new arrangement is another question because the contract was signed after a lot of deliberations regarding Kohli’s image rights.

(With PTI inputs)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 09 May, 2018

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