Test specialists will be in England in June: Vinod Rai

NEW DELHI: Test specialists like Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane will reach England in June with India A to play firstclass games against counties and England Lions and prepare for the Test series, BCCI Committee of Administrators chief, Vinod Rai, said on Saturday.

The five-test series starts in August and skipper Virat Kohli sees it as his biggest Test. Kohli will play for Surrey in June after the IPL to get used to the conditions, after a poor run in 2014. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma will play for Yorkshire and Sussex respectively.

That would mean Kohli won’t lead India in the historic first Test of Afghanistan, starting in Bangalore on June 14. Rai said BCCI is not taking Afghanistan lightly will field a strong side.

“We are looking at the bigger picture and we have had discussions with our think tank -- Virat, coach Ravi Shastri, India A coach Rahul Dravid and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim and chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad. The consensus has been preparation for England Test series.”

The India squad will leave for England in two batches in June. “I can’t say how many, anything between two to four senior team players will be there from the start of A tour. A few will play the Afghanistan Test and then leave for England. At least 7 to 8 players, all Test team specialists will have to be in England in June.”