Virat Kohli to play both T20 internationals in Ireland

Earlier Kohli was about to miss the first match because of its overlap with his county commitments.

Virat Kohli (AFP)

Indian Captain Virat Kohli is all set to fly to Ireland with the rest of the team, to take part in both the T20 internationals there ahead of the full tour to England if he attains full fitness. Earlier because of Virat's county championship deal with Surrey, he was only going to available only for the second T20I on the tour. 

India's best batsman was about to play three four-day games and as many List A games for Surrey and with the overlapping of one of the fixtures, he was about to miss the first game in Malahide. Unfortunately, Kohli felt a neck sprain and hence his county deal got cancelled. He is now in a recovery process, as he looks to be in shape and be fully prepared for the tough tour of England this summer. 

According to reports, however, the skipper is likely to be fully fit in time for the start of the long United Kingdom tour that begins with the first T20 International against Ireland at Malahide on June 27th and concludes with the end of the last Test against England at The Oval in the second week of September. 

A source has been quoted saying to TOI about the whole issue around Virat's availability that, “Surrey was an option; the England tour is a responsibility. He’s taken a break whenever there was a need for it. That’s why he sat out of the last T20 in South Africa and did not play in the Nidahas Trophy. It shows that priorities are well in place. It’s unfortunate that Virat hasn’t been able to leave for Surrey but recovering fully in time is the more important thing,”

Virat went through an indoor training session on Wednesday at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. He trained under the watchful eyes of the Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar. He will be undergoing a fitness test on June 15 at NCA, which will decide whether he will be fit for the limited-overs leg of Ireland and England or not, though he is highly unlikely to be unavailable for any of that. 

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 01 Jun, 2018

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