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Virat Kohli interested in playing county cricket before 2018 tour

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Virat Kohli has expressed a desire to play county cricket in 2018 in preparation for India’s Test tour that summer. In stark contrast to the form that has seen Kohli score 1,200 runs at an average of 80 in 2016, India’s previous Test tour of England two years ago proved a tough affair on a personal level. Averaging only 13.4 with a top score of 39, Kohli was removed four times in the 3-1 defeat by Jimmy Anderson.

It was England’s record wicket-taker who was asked during the recent Mumbai Test how much the right-hander’s game has changed since then, leading him to query whether, in fact, the Indian pitches on show this series simply mean any related technical issues were not in play. The true answer will not be known for another 18 months, when India play a five-Test series in England.

And leading into that tour, Kohli would be interested in becoming just the second of the current generation of Indian batsmen, after Cheteshwar Pujara’s spells at Derbyshire and Yorkshire, to work on his game in the County Championship with a view to acclimatising.

“If I have a chance I would love to do that,” said the 28-year-old Kohli, who sits second in the world Test-batting rankings. “I would love to be there a month or month and a half beforehand to get used to playing in the conditions and understand what the wickets play like in that phase of the year.

“I think those things matter a lot and is something that is very crucial for a side. So yes, if I have the opportunity to go there a few days before the tour starts that would be great. I have actually been thinking about it and trying to work out how I can make that happen. Most definitely, if I have time, I would love to.”

Kohli’s availability would likely hinge on whether there is a sufficient window in between the Indian Premier League and the start of the tour, the dates of which are yet to be confirmed. Even a short spell would be of interest to counties, however.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/15/virat-kohli-county-cricket-england-tour-2018
 
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He is a fighter to the core. After captaincy his batting has gone up several notches in Tests much like how it went up for Dhoni in the one dayers. He is not leaving anything to chance.
 
Nice

He understands he has a huge weakness and if he fails again Ben there will always be doubts raise of his completeness as a batsman.

So amazing to see he is taking the requisite steps to give him The best chance to succeed
 
Good call. Will look to counter the seam and swing which got him out last time.

Slog said:
He understands he has a huge weakness and if he fails again Ben there will always be doubts raise of his completeness as a batsman.
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No it won't. Sangakkara and Ponting have escaped such scrutiny.
 
Varun said:
Good call. Will look to counter the seam and swing which got him out last time.



No it won't. Sangakkara and Ponting have escaped such scrutiny.
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While we want that to be true it just isn't

You need to be moderately successful in England and Aus atleast
 
Slog said:
While we want that to be true it just isn't

You need to be moderately successful in England and Aus atleast
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So Sangakkara was average in England, Inzamam in Australia. Doesn't change their status to Sri Lanka and Pakistan does it?
 
I remember Pujara playing there before the 2014 series. He failed badly both in county as well as Test series.

Hopefully Kohli will improve his record in England.
 
Been playing cricket like machine.. I fear burn out
 
Varun said:
So Sangakkara was average in England, Inzamam in Australia. Doesn't change their status to Sri Lanka and Pakistan does it?
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Sanga fixed his record there

All Kohli needs is one big series there and even if his overall England test numbers are low that should be enough as long as his record is great elsewhere
 
Sanga was average in few more venues and not just in Eng. Anyway, Sanga or any batsman shouldn't be the benchmark. Every batsman wants to do well in all venues. Eng being one of the top test nation, you do want to do well there as well.
 
Slog said:
Sanga fixed his record there

All Kohli needs is one big series there and even if his overall England test numbers are low that should be enough as long as his record is great elsewhere
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Sanga 36 in India, 36 in SA, 34 in WI
 
troodon said:
I remember Pujara playing there before the 2014 series. He failed badly both in county as well as Test series.

Hopefully Kohli will improve his record in England.
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Pujara had his division 2 county stint after the 2014 series, not before.
 
Slog said:
Sanga fixed his record there

All Kohli needs is one big series there and even if his overall England test numbers are low that should be enough as long as his record is great elsewhere
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Any criteria which Virat doesn't fall under is the criteria for complete batsmanship. If he scores in England next time and if Anderson is not there , then the next problem for him will be he didn't score against Anderson. Its a lose- lose situation.
Doest matter Joe Root in Australia , Lara in India ,Ponting in India etc
 
On hearing this BCCI be like 'NOOoooo..' He is our no.1 player in all formats & a money spinner in IPL. The last thing BCCI would want is for him to miss any games or watch him get injured in a game they aren't making any money .
 
Kohli's record in eng is embarrassingly bad.. it's one thing to average in 30 and another to average 10 after 10 innings

Came a long way from there as a batsman though. Was a widely popular belief that kohli and Rahane likes bounce and can't score on slow wickets (Rahane still can't) And look at what he is doing now
 
And looks like Australia are back to flat wickets again. So many pp members have been vocal about dismissing Kohli's achievements in Australia due to nature of the pitch. So it will be interesting to see how Pakistani batsmen fare on the same deck.

Saying this now rather than later so wouldn't be accused of being opportunistic :)
 
Like I said , anything which makes him look bad is good for most. Now 30 is acceptable jeez
 
Slog said:
While we want that to be true it just isn't

<b>You need to be moderately successful in England and Aus atleast</b>
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Why is it not similarly necessary to be successful in India, UAE, SL and Bangladesh? I thought the colonial age had ended many decades ago. I suppose Indians should also return the ownership of Jaguar Land Rover to the Brits.
 
Vivek_86 said:
What is the cut off for disaster - not disaster?
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No arbitrary cut off.

But you have to admit that if Kohli keeps his average below 15 in England over his career, doubts will always be cast.

I am sure he can improve it to 30 plus but just saying if he keeps flopping England... people will be skeptical.
 
Kohli will dominate England in 2018. Everyone knows it.
 
Vivek_86 said:
What is the cut off for disaster - not disaster?
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No specific thing as there are many variables. I think a 33-35+ average generally means you must have had some marquee innings in that country. So if you have that plus a great record in most other countries then that is generally enough to overcome that

For me personally you should have one big series atleast in the country if statistically your average is on the lower end

Let's say Kohli makes 3 England tours and fails spectacularly in 2 (sub 15) and has one bumper series which takes his average to 30+ then it is enough for me personally to write off the overall bad record as he has shown that he has the ability to play in the country
 
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Nikhil_cric said:
No we don't. He has never truly been successful against swing/seam bowling and he's not a complete batsman like SRT/dravid were in the past for us.
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Are you trying to be funny? With all due respect to legends of yesteryears, Kohli will dominate and surpass everyone and every record in every format. He is certainly a more complete batsman than the likes of Dravid, Laxman.
 
Ponting ended his career with an average of 26 in India after 14 (!) tests; is that above or below this cutoff.

Not a single one of those innings was of any positive impact to the end result.



In general, I understand the sentiment. Kohli needs to have at least one very good (matchwinning or saving) knock in England. But if that doesn't happen and he wins test matches in Aus or SA, he will still be considered an ATG. More knocks similar to Jo'burg (man of the match) and Adelaide.
 
No need to skip IPL. He can score century after century in England in 2018 with or without his stint in county cricket. He should play IPL, which is important for Indian cricketers as they have to make money as cricket isn't gonna be their permanent job and also few weeks off from hectic schedule and pressure as an Indian cricketer throughout the year.
 
An average of 14 is just awful if Kohli ends up with that. I But there is 0.0000001% chance of happening it.
 
Sin Nombre said:
Ponting ended his career with an average of 26 in India after 14 (!) tests; is that above or below this cutoff.

Not a single one of those innings was of any positive impact to the end result.



In general, I understand the sentiment. Kohli needs to have at least one very good (matchwinning or saving) knock in England. But if that doesn't happen and he wins test matches in Aus or SA, he will still be considered an ATG. More knocks similar to Jo'burg (man of the match) and Adelaide.
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Two things

1) Ponting did struggle a lot but he somewhat fixed it in his last two series. He averaged 45 in 6 tests with 1 century and 4 fifties does have a century and five fifties in India. Ofcourse it doesnt erase his terrible performances before but atleast he ended his career in India on a somewhat good note personally

But what is more crucial here and what I referred to before:

2) We still live in a world where success in countries like Australia and England is a sign of a batsman's worth. We can deny it all we want but that what has been for past few decades (earlier WI was in it as well and in recent times SA has been). Ponting has a stellar record in those places so his one 'failure' can be written off as an anomaly.

Point 2 goes back to my point earlier in the thread. Kohli doesnt need to average 50+ in England. He just needs one big series with a marquee performance in one of the next 2 tours (I am assuming he has 2 england tours left.) If he can dominate one series it will be enough regarless of what overall average says
 
Slog said:
1) Ponting did struggle a lot but he somewhat fixed it in his last two series. He averaged 45 in 6 tests with 1 century and 4 fifties does have a century and five fifties in India. Ofcourse it doesnt erase his terrible performances before but atleast he ended his career in India on a somewhat good note personally
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Ponting's last two series came about in 2008 and 2010, an era where we were putting out flat roads through all series.

If Ponting had toured in 2013 or today, his record would be yet worse. Anyway, 26 in 14 tests is hardly sparkling.
 
Varun said:
Ponting's last two series came about in 2008 and 2010, an era where we were putting out flat roads through all series.

If Ponting had toured in 2013 or today, his record would be yet worse. Anyway, 26 in 14 tests is hardly sparkling.
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Kohli well get that chance too

Over a career these things even out
 
Slog said:
While we want that to be true it just isn't

You need to be moderately successful in England and Aus atleast
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Actually lot of Indian players have solid record in England. It is not a magical place. Even Kumble/Agarkar got 100s. Bhuvaneswar/Shami made 50 each at Lords.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Actually lot of Indian players have solid record in England. It is not a magical place. Even Kumble/Agarkar got 100s. Bhuvaneswar/Shami made 50 each at Lords.
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so it should be easy for Kohli considering his talent and reputation
 
Kohli has scored runs everywhere in tests, once he scores runs in England in 2018 he will cement himself as a future test match great.
 
Bhaag Viru Bhaag said:
You were the one who was talking about burn out. He will learn a lot by playing in county cricket instead of playing in your fav mickey mouse league. :inti
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Money matters the most to anyone.. he can play both or choose one option that is financially viable.. I would do the same

He can scrap off playing few t20s and OdI but then again why would he if that's his strongest format plus cope the whining from people who have nothing at stake ?
 
Hasan123 said:
Kohli has scored runs everywhere in tests, once he scores runs in England in 2018 he will cement himself as a future test match great.
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I can already hear the excuses that will roll in: Kohli scored in England because the pitches were flat unlike 2014! Kohli scored in 2018 because Anderson was not there!
 
Chrish said:
Money matters the most to anyone.. he can play both or choose one option that is financially viable.. I would do the same

He can scrap off playing few t20s and OdI but then again why would he if that's his strongest format plus cope the whining from people who have nothing at stake ?
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Money can't improve his technique in swinging conditions or shut the mouth of players like anderson. Who is asking him to skip any international match? He should stay away from IPL if he wants to play county cricket. He is not a machine.
 
Good on him but as someone already said even if Kohli scores in England next pitches are either flat or Anderson is missing or some other along those lines.

Also as said before he will burn out,he should realize he will not have such strength forever.
 
Kohli will do everything in his power to fix his record in England that we can be sure. And he'll probably be at his peak when he tours there, so it should be a great sight.
 
Lol at Indians being so defensive in this thread

Dunno why
 
Slog said:
Two things

1) Ponting did struggle a lot but he somewhat fixed it in his last two series. He averaged 45 in 6 tests with 1 century and 4 fifties does have a century and five fifties in India. Ofcourse it doesnt erase his terrible performances before but atleast he ended his career in India on a somewhat good note personally

But what is more crucial here and what I referred to before:

2) We still live in a world where success in countries like Australia and England is a sign of a batsman's worth. We can deny it all we want but that what has been for past few decades (earlier WI was in it as well and in recent times SA has been). Ponting has a stellar record in those places so his one 'failure' can be written off as an anomaly.

Point 2 goes back to my point earlier in the thread. Kohli doesnt need to average 50+ in England. He just needs one big series with a marquee performance in one of the next 2 tours (I am assuming he has 2 england tours left.) If he can dominate one series it will be enough regarless of what overall average says
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Agree, terrible record in England will definitely hold out against any batsman when they will be talked about. Thats the perception that is created and will stay on unfortunately.

However funny thing is for Kohli at least with what he says, he doesn't give two hoots about what people say about him and neither is he someone who has sights on records unlike his idol. Which is why I feel it wont play on his mind much when he tours next, so thereby increasing his chances of succeeding.

I am sure English press and side will do a good job of reminding him of his record there and also play mind games. Its going to be interesting.
 
Slog said:
Lol at Indians being so defensive in this thread

Dunno why
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As its an avoidable situation ,he is doing exactly what the "white cricket camps" want,he has done well in Aus,Nz,Sa and now just to prove a point he is thinking of playing county cricket,considering the load he has that of IPL ,test cricket.

Will the likes of Cook,Warner,Ponting ever come to play or even practice locally to get accustomed to Asian pitches?This mentality of his is annoying atleast for me personally.
 
JaDed said:
As its an avoidable situation ,he is doing exactly what the "white cricket camps" want,he has done well in Aus,Nz,Sa and now just to prove a point he is thinking of playing county cricket,considering the load he has that of IPL ,test cricket.

Will the likes of Cook,Warner,Ponting ever come to play or even practice locally to get accustomed to Asian pitches?This mentality of his is annoying atleast for me personally.
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You are assuming he is doing it to please the "white cricket camps". For all you know he wants to perform better because that would mean good chance of India doing well.
 
Cricfan4eva said:
You are assuming he is doing it to please the "white cricket camps". For all you know he wants to perform better because that would mean good chance of India doing well.
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He doesn't have to play county for that.Can work in India to improve his technique.
 
JaDed said:
As its an avoidable situation ,he is doing exactly what the "white cricket camps" want,he has done well in Aus,Nz,Sa and now just to prove a point he is thinking of playing county cricket,considering the load he has that of IPL ,test cricket.

Will the likes of Cook,Warner,Ponting ever come to play or even practice locally to get accustomed to Asian pitches?This mentality of his is annoying atleast for me personally.
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Lol this is actually really admirable for him and i love this attitude.

Though i think he will do well in England regardless of this tour

Personally speaking here only:
I think 10 years later that 2014 series will be seen as an anomoly for him and a real low point in his career. And just that. He will have rectified his England record atleast to a level i talked about above where he has some good performances in England.

The 13 average shows that something was def not right in the head, had zero confidence and/or that he was just woefully out of form exposing his technical weakness when the particular series happened. All players go through something similar at some point in their career though ofcourse this was on a different level. Actually if he had averaged sth like mid to high 20s and had a few starts then that would have been a bigger worry because that clearly shows a technical fault. But its just not possible for a batsman like Kohli to not have some good starts and scores over 10 innings regardless of pitch and conditions.

I predict he will rectify this in his career.

But if somehow he has another similarly bad series then unfortunately that will reflect badly
 
JaDed said:
He doesn't have to play county for that.Can work in India to improve his technique.
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Technique is not Virat's issue. He didn't adjust his game last time in England, poking and playing deliveries well outside off stump is a big NO in England where ball seams and swings. And those conditions cant be found in India.

SRT, RD, Ganguly played in counties and its no surprise they all have great record there. Because England is a great place for good batsman, you just need to adapt.

Just to prove to some people that he isn't catering to "white cricket camps" he shouldn't play county? :)) Come on man
 
Cricfan4eva said:
Technique is not Virat's issue. He didn't adjust his game last time in England, poking and playing deliveries well outside off stump is a big NO in England where ball seams and swings. And those conditions cant be found in India.

SRT, RD, Ganguly played in counties and its no surprise they all have great record there. Because England is a great place for good batsman, you just need to adapt.

Just to prove to some people that he isn't catering to "white cricket camps" he shouldn't play county? :)) Come on man
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dunno why but I think Kohli is too BIG to play county cricket.

county cricket today doesnt have the same aura of the 70s,80s and 90s where all the top players used to play every summer.

and apart from adjusting to conditions theres not much other use for it. Side matches will be enough.

Do you think he will face anyone near the quality of 2014 form Anderson in county cricket anyways? :)) It wasnt like every random pacer was getting him out in 2014.

but its pretty awesome he is even considering
 
TestMatch said:
Will Jimmy Anderson even be around for Kohli's next tour of England?
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doesnt matter

his job is to perform in english conditions.

not perform against any specific bowler
 
As if this guy needs to get any better.


Compare that to our "superstars" who keep counting their "achievements" despite haven't done anything yet.
 
Slog said:
dunno why but I think Kohli is too BIG to play county cricket.

county cricket today doesnt have the same aura of the 70s,80s and 90s where all the top players used to play every summer.

and apart from adjusting to conditions theres not much other use for it. Side matches will be enough.

Do you think he will face anyone near the quality of 2014 form Anderson in county cricket anyways? :)) It wasnt like every random pacer was getting him out in 2014.

but its pretty awesome he is even considering
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I don't think it is about Kohli needing practice against top quality bowling. He dealt with Steyn in SA and Johnson in Aus without much trouble. His problem was conditions, so if he knows how the ball behaves or gets accustomed then his game is good enough to deal with bowlers of high skill as well.

Pakistan went to England early and their batting didn't do too bad now did it? One of the few touring sides who held their own against this English attack.
 
Cricfan4eva said:
Technique is not Virat's issue. He didn't adjust his game last time in England, poking and playing deliveries well outside off stump is a big NO in England where ball seams and swings. And those conditions cant be found in India.

SRT, RD, Ganguly played in counties and its no surprise they all have great record there. Because England is a great place for good batsman, you just need to adapt.

Just to prove to some people that he isn't catering to "white cricket camps" he shouldn't play county? :)) Come on man
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No that's because it coincides with IPL man,he still has not taken RCB to the title,so will he be giving up IPL to play county?
 
JaDed said:
No that's because it coincides with IPL man,he still has not taken RCB to the title,so will he be giving up IPL to play county?
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He did say in the interview that only if he gets time from his other commitments and since India usually tour England in Jul-Aug period, so he'll have time to feature in a few games.

Even 2-3 games should be ideal for someone like him to get used to the conditions. And it wont be too much of workload as well.
 
Cricfan4eva said:
He did say in the interview that only if he gets time from his other commitments and since India usually tour England in Jul-Aug period, so he'll have time to feature in a few games.

Even 2-3 games should be ideal for someone like him to get used to the conditions. And it wont be too much of workload as well.
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Fairly sure India have some international games between the IPL and the england series in 2018.
 
HitWicket said:
Fairly sure India have some international games between the IPL and the england series in 2018.
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Wont be a full fledged tour thats for sure. If its pointless Zimbabwe LOI tour we have every other year he could well skip that.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
It is one of those things . Ponting looked worse than chris martin in India in a series. Doesn't make him any less great.
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yes. but he had good series' too

so kohli should be able to do tht as well
 
Slog said:
yes. but he had good series' too

so kohli should be able to do tht as well
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Not immediately.He had to wait for a while before he got good one. Actually the conditions where he failed in England was hardly challenging. It was largely self-inflicted as he kept playing one day shots. Ponting was clueless not just when he got out even during his stay.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Not immediately.He had to wait for a while before he got good one. Actually the conditions where he failed in England was hardly challenging. It was largely self-inflicted as he kept playing one day shots. Ponting was clueless not just when he got out even during his stay.
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Yes if Kohli can have one big series in England that would be enough like the one where Ponting scored a century and 3 fifties
 
Runs in England is over-rated. So many subcontinent players have done very well in England compared to SA and OZ.Sometime on day one early morning it is very juicy. If you get through the phase it will ease out. When the condition is so bad that ball is jagging around a lot even the best of the best would struggle. Dravid is the best i have seen in actual swinging conditions. Azharuddin is not exactly a great player against swing. He scored lot of runs in England.
 
Birmingham test 2002 when dravid and bangar gave a solid opening should be watched by the current Indian team
 
Varun said:
I can already hear the excuses that will roll in: Kohli scored in England because the pitches were flat unlike 2014! Kohli scored in 2018 because Anderson was not there!
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Lol the only thing Kohli can do is score the runs, people will always find excuses.

There is no doubt in my mind that he will score in England even if the pitch is a green mamba, and weather Anderson is there or not.
 
The conditions have eased out, wickets are a lot flatter and the new drainage system ensures this. Kohli won't have to deal with conditions similar to his previous tour of England so he need not worry.
 
Good stuff from Kohli. Acknowledging that he has a clear weakness against swing and seam bowling and that he isn't the 'legendary GOAT, King Kohli' that his fans are making him out to be will help him a whole lot in his career.

He's growing as both a player and person and should do well in England next time around. I'd be more concerned about South Africa.
 
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It's not a matter of technique now but discipline. A county stint would obviously be ideal to test himself.
 
Every county team will be trying their best to sign him up even for a couple of games.
 
King Kong said:
Are you trying to be funny? With all due respect to legends of yesteryears, Kohli will dominate and surpass everyone and every record in every format. He is certainly a more complete batsman than the likes of Dravid, Laxman.
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Complete and utter nonsense. He's not a more complete batsman than Dravid in tests as of now. Laxman yes. And Kohli has not proven himself against quality swing/seam bowling. If he proves himself in SA and England then we can say that he's a complete batsman.
 
shaz619 said:
The conditions have eased out, wickets are a lot flatter and the new drainage system ensures this. Kohli won't have to deal with conditions similar to his previous tour of England so he need not worry.
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Was it the reason why PAK drew against ENG this year?
 
Bilal7 said:
Good stuff from Kohli. Acknowledging that he has a clear weakness against swing and seam bowling and that he isn't the 'legendary GOAT, King Kohli' that his fans are making him out to be will help him a whole lot in his career.

He's growing as both a player and person and should do well in England next time around. I'd be more concerned about South Africa.
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So any international player's desire to play in county cricket indicates that they think they have a weakness in those conditions?
 
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