With the idea of getting the Indian skipper to be prepared for India’s tour to England, BCCI now permitting Virat Kohli to play in English County cricket. The Indian test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara & Ishant Sharma are the other two names who have already confirmed their county cricket availability for this summer. They will be playing for Yorkshire and Sussex respectively. It is yet unknown which team Virat to play county matches for.
It is said that Sussex is the team which has been showing interest in the Virat’s availability. Surrex team officials were asking BCCI about the master batsmen’s availability. It must be a good news for the Indian test side as the Indian middle order will be having enough preparation time before the most expected England vs India test series scheduled for July – September 2018.
You can check the Schedule for India’s tour to England in July 2018
Less-prep time muddle
It was less prep-time before the South Africa test series cost us the series to an extent. India could have fared better if there were some bat & ball time before the test series in the Proteas land.
Now it is very clear that the Indian cricket board taking things serious as Virat already had a poor outing in England in 2014, the last time when India toured the British nation.
Virat Kohli’s average was mere 13.40 in the 3-1 losing series for India in the 2014 tour to England.
Things changed now and Virat’s performances over the years have gone hill high in the recent few years.
The recent tour to South Africa was a witness as Indian players gave a right fight back like never before against the fiery Proteas fast bowlers. And that could be well expected against the average-looking current English test side this summer too.
Yes, England is a different ball game as the ball swings with real intensity and in the likes of James Anderson & Stuart Broad, it is always going to be a walk in the fire series for the Indian side.
“This time we have been pro-active because post the South Africa experience we felt that exposure was essential for the team,” Vinod Rai, the chairman of the committee of administrators, the body governing the BCCI, told ESPNcricinfo. “So we have given him and other Test specialists permission to play in county cricket.”
BCCI has also announced that few of the test specialists will be included in the India-A’s line-up in the team’s 2 4-day test series in England this summer under the coaching eyes of Rahul Dravid.
Wrap-up
It is always a trouble-filled path for the touring test sides, especially in a hosting nation like England. Still, India had always some fruitful memories in the British nation so far, like Kapil Dev’s World Cup-winning moment to Sourav Ganguly’s unforgettable debut test series.
Keeping Virat’s form in mind one can expect the master batsman to alter the poor batting stats, which he rarely posses, in his own way. Good things always come with few dull sacrifices.
With Virat and Pujara prepared to play in the county this summer, they will be missed out in the one-test series against Afghanistan in India during the month of June. The newly welcomed team in Test Arena must have been looking forward to playing against some greats in the game.
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