Scores to settle
Kohli to head for a county stint in June to prepare for the England series, where he is yet to perform as per his reputation |
An aggregate of 134 runs from five Tests — at an average of 13.40 runs — is all Virat Kohli has to show for his Test batting record in England. An anomaly, which arguably the best batsman in the world now plans to correct as he is set for a stint in county cricket in his bid to step up the preparations for the Test series in the Old Blighty in AugustSeptember.
“Virat will be playing for a division one county side for sure. I wouldn’t like to add anything more to it. There were talks with Surrey and Essex,” a senior BCCI official told a news agency yesterday. Media reports, however, confirmed it will be Surrey and the Indian captain has decided to miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting June 14, to test himself in the county environment.
Endorsing his decision, Raj Kumar Sharma, the childhood coach and mentor of Kohli told Gulf News over phone from New Delhi: “No doubt, it’s the right decision. It will give him the opportunity to acclimatise himself with the conditions there — which are so different — and proves once again he is still so keen to improve himself.”
While Kohli’s decision has been hailed across the social media, it’s obvious that the sharp cricketing sense in him took cognisance of the criticism during the Test series in South Africa that the team should have landed there early to familiarise themselves with the extra pace and bounce of the wickets.
The captain, of course, showed he was a cut above the rest when he emerged as the highest scorer from either side with 286 runs in Tests (not to speak of 558 runs in the oneday series), but his poor record against the moving ball in England is something his detractors have often held up against him.
He is set to leave for England after completing his assignment for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 11th edition of Indian Premier League.
Kohli didn’t have a profitable Test series in England in 2014 when he failed to get even a single half-century, while he was found vulnerable outside the off stump with Stuart Broad and James Anderson troubling him a lot.
Get accustomed
The BCCI is putting in a lot of effort for the upcoming Test series and want more and more players to get accustomed to English conditions.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who makes England his home as he remains unsold in the IPL, will be turning up for Yorkshire while Ishant Sharma will be playing for Durham. The likes of Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane are also expected to prop up their preparations by travelling with the India A team ahead of the tour.
The special appearance of Kohli in county cricket, albeit for a limited duration, will surely whip up a massive hysteria there — while fans may be inclined to draw a comparison with the Little Master’s stint there for Yorkshire in 1992. The circumstances are far more different though as Kohli is at the high noon of his career while the ‘Little Master’ had gone there barely three years after making his Test debut.
It was the first occasion the ultra-conservative Yorkshire Club had opened their doors to an overseas cricketer and Tendulkar did not disappoint them either. He accumulated more than 1,000 runs in the Championship, averaging 46.52 while his 96-ball hundred against Durham towards the back end of the campaign also remained a talking point for months.
“One of the greatest fourand-a-half months I have spent in my life,” Tendulkar reminisced later, though he had never returned for another stint. With Kohli, we will wait and watch!
No doubt, it’s the right decision. It will give him the opportunity to acclimatise himself with the conditions there — which are so different.” Raj Kumar Sharma » Kohli’s childhood coach