Virat Kohli ruled out of playing for Surrey with neck injury [Update Post #170]

[AssassinatedDevil]

Mumbai: Despite the batting powerhouse that Virat Kohli has grown up to be in the last few years, England has always proved to be a tough outing for the Indian skipper. With just 134 runs in five Test matches and a dismal average of 13.40, doing well in England has been a top priority for the India captain.

As the tour of England comprising five Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is nears, Kohli has opted for a county stint with Surrey this June to prepare well for the English Test.

The first Test begins on August 1 at Edgbaston In doing so, the skipper will miss Afghanistan’s debut Test in India to be hosted in Bengaluru starting June 14 and will instead head to the south of London post the Indian Premier League (IPL). Home to the historic Kia Oval in South London, Surrey have played hosts to some of the game’s legends and Kohli will become first Indian to join their ranks.

Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara is likely to extend his association with Yorkshire in the same month. In fact, with Surrey set to clash with Yorkshire in June, Kohli and Pujara could well find themselves clashing with each other as India gear up to put their best foot forward in England.

Prior to the start of this series, Surrey is scheduled to play three four-day matches between June 9 and 28 against Hampshire, Somerset and Yorkshire which Kohli is likely to make himself available for.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...est-for-surrey-stint/articleshow/63438615.cms

 

[Poutine]

That's kind of disrespectful to their best friends.

 

[WengerOut]

Atleast there will not be Kohli bashing for scoring soft runs against the Afghans.


Great intent by him though. Highly appreciated

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Good on him. He desperately needs it

 

[jnaveen1980]

That's kind of disrespectful to their best friends.

As it is, competing with India will be very hard for them.

 

[Ali Bohra]

Virat Kohli to play county cricket post IPL in June before England tour. True sign of 100% dedication for the test cricket. Will definitely help him overcome the mistakes he made during his previous stint.

 

[Oligochaetes]

Wow. I give him full marks for his dedication to the sport. He knows he has a big gaping hole in his Test CV and is going all out to fill that void.

 

[dsachan]

A welcome step.

 

[Hasan123]

Good preparation for him. A couple of other Indians should look to replicate him.

 

[Adijazz1706]

Good preparation for him. A couple of other Indians should look to replicate him.

Pujara has a longer stint this year iirc, he was gash last time so should improve on that at least

 

[IndianFan2018]

Kohli is making right decesion for his own preparation; hope he rectifies his infamous selection related mistakes as well 2

 

[cricketjoshila]

Salute to his commitment.

 

[big_gamer007]

Great job from kohli, he is taking it seriously hopefully he can help us win in England..

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Well done Kohli. Exactly what I wanted him to do. [MENTION=143738]CanadianG00se[/MENTION] [MENTION=146753]Send1983[/MENTION] See Kohli is playing county cricket. What is your opinion now?

 

[dani2k]

Well you might not agree with all his decisions as a test captain. But gotta say hats off to his commitment to his game and desire to become better. Whether he succeeds or not is something only time can say, but full marks to Kohli for taking that effort. Good luck skip!

 

[Sidilicious]

brilliant commitment. Clearly showing that test cricket is still the pinnacle.

 

[Mamoon]

He does not need a County stint to score runs in England. He is mentally a different player to what we saw in England in 2014, and the late summer English conditions are not going to be more challenging than the ones he conquered in South Africa. Much inferior batsmen have piled up the runs in England.

Nonetheless, this shows the sheer dedication of the man. This is massive for Surrey and their young players.

 

[Slog]

His England failure is eating him inside and is certainly messing with his head

I've heard him mention it in three interviews and now he will also get a county contract . He realises that to cement his legacy he needs to correct his tailender record in England

However while you have to admire the commitment I do feel he is obsessing over it too much and putting unnecessary pressure on himself

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Good on him.

 

[Adijazz1706]

His England failure is eating him inside and is certainly messing with his head

I've heard him mention it in three interviews and now he will also get a county contract . He realises that to cement his legacy he needs to correct his tailender record in England

However while you have to admire the commitment I do feel he is obsessing over it too much and putting unnecessary pressure on himself

Seems a tad egotistical, what if he's rubbish at Surrey like Pujara and Ashwin last year? That would make his mental situation worse

 

[BreadPakoda]

Seems a tad egotistical, what if he's rubbish at Surrey like Pujara and Ashwin last year? That would make his mental situation worse

Don't know about Ashwin, but Pujara was definitely rubbish. That's why Yorkshire has resigned him for this year.

He represented the club in four matches during that season scoring 264 runs at an average of 53.98 from four matches.

Source

 

[BreadPakoda]

Seems a tad egotistical, what if he's rubbish at Surrey like Pujara and Ashwin last year? That would make his mental situation worse

Don't know about Ashwin, but Pujara was definitely rubbish. That's why Yorkshire has resigned him for this year.


Source

You're right [MENTION=139190]Adijazz1706[/MENTION]. Ashwin was rubbish too.

An average of 29 with the ball and 43 with the bat.

 

[Adijazz1706]

Don't know about Ashwin, but Pujara was definitely rubbish. That's why Yorkshire has resigned him for this year.


Source

Was using a wrong filter 'in England' which included the tests, my bad

 

[TM Riddle]

His England failure is eating him inside and is certainly messing with his head

I've heard him mention it in three interviews and now he will also get a county contract . He realises that to cement his legacy he needs to correct his tailender record in England

However while you have to admire the commitment I do feel he is obsessing over it too much and putting unnecessary pressure on himself

Sloggy sometime I feel more than Kohli it's you who is obsessing more over his poor record in England. I see you mentioning it in every second post ever since he had a good tour of SA. Give it a rest will ya

 

[IndianFan2018]

Sloggy sometime I feel more than Kohli it's you who is obsessing more over his poor record in England. I see you mentioning it in every second post ever since he had a good tour of SA. Give it a rest will ya

When as per wishes of critics Kohli is going to play county cricket, still people whine

 

[shaz619]

He does not need a County stint to score runs in England. He is mentally a different player to what we saw in England in 2014, and the late summer English conditions are not going to be more challenging than the ones he conquered in South Africa. Much inferior batsmen have piled up the runs in England.

Nonetheless, this shows the sheer dedication of the man. This is massive for Surrey and their young players.

Yeah great oppourtunity for those young players to get their Level 3 ECB coaching qualifications

 

[kuskash]

Yeah great oppourtunity for those young players to get their Level 3 ECB coaching qualifications

Aware of a word called "inspiration"? Or just believing in discouraging people?

 

[moghul]

Kohli will be better prepared for England tour by playing some FC cricket in counties, not going to get any practice by playing “test” against a team which recently lost to Hong Kong and UAE and given “ test “ status for non cricketing reasons.

 

[HitWicket]

Don't know about Ashwin, but Pujara was definitely rubbish. That's why Yorkshire has resigned him for this year.


Source

You realise those are his stats from 3 yesrs back? Not from his struggles in division 2 last season.

 

[cricketjoshila]

His England failure is eating him inside and is certainly messing with his head

I've heard him mention it in three interviews and now he will also get a county contract . He realises that to cement his legacy he needs to correct his tailender record in England

However while you have to admire the commitment I do feel he is obsessing over it too much and putting unnecessary pressure on himself

He wants to be an ATG among ATGs. Wants his name to be mentioned amongs the Tendulkars of the game with no bogey team. Thats the level he wants to achieve. To do so you need to have extraordinary genius level talent, which unfortunately he doesnot have. So he is trying to make up for that by sheer determination, grit and hard work.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Virat Kohli is going all out to challenge Tendulkar as the greatest batsman since Bradman.

Salute to the intent.

 

[JattMaula]

So Kholee thinks that test vs Afghanistan is not real test match and he can skip it? And people are praising him for this?

Disgusting.

 

[SandyB]

Yeah great oppourtunity for those young players to get their Level 3 ECB coaching qualifications

The young players will earn a Level 1 MCBC qualification too after his stint. .

 

[rhony]

Virat Kohli is going all out to challenge Tendulkar as the greatest batsman since Bradman.

Salute to the intent.

He just hates Smith and wants to be called the best test bat of this generation.

 

[rhony]

So Kholee thinks that test vs Afghanistan is not real test match and he can skip it? And people are praising him for this?

Disgusting.

India doesn't need Kohli to win against AFG. Rohit will score a hundred and will board the flight to england

 

[English August]

Good move. But will this help him overcome the selection mistakes he made in South Africa?!

 

[rhony]

He sure seems obsessed though. A team that scores 58 against a swinging ball will never make a green pitch. It's late in the summer. He's gonna score a bucketful anyway

 

[rhony]

Good move. But will this help him overcome the selection mistakes he made in South Africa?!

Not as long as Rohit is lurking around the corner. These two are chums I heard

 

[English August]

India doesn't need Kohli to win against AFG. Rohit will score a hundred and will board the flight to england

Hopefully the airline makes a mistake and sends him to Alaska or somewhere like that for 3 months. That way he won't be anywhere close to the Test team.

 

[WengerOut]

Hopefully the airline makes a mistake and sends him to Alaska or somewhere like that for 3 months. That way he won't be anywhere close to the Test team.

If you guys think he is the only problem then you are in for a surprise.

 

[CricCrazyNick]

Well done Kohli. Exactly what I wanted him to do. [MENTION=143738]CanadianG00se[/MENTION] [MENTION=146753]Send1983[/MENTION] See Kohli is playing county cricket. What is your opinion now?

Not at the expence of IPL
Infact at the expense of Int Cricket

 

[angrypathan]

I'm not sure I feel positively towards this. Whilst it's great that he is seriously determined to rectify his failures in England, I feel that it's blatantly disrespectful to both their opponents and to the game for a captain to be sitting out from a Test match to be playing in a domestic level match

 

[rhony]

If you guys think he is the only problem then you are in for a surprise.

Opening seems to be a concern after a long time. Vijay is losing his touch. Dhawan and Rahul have become hit ot misses.

 

[Tusker]

There is no need to give such undue importance to playing and succeeding in England ... Kohli would have still gone down as a ATG if he never toured England again as they are no longer the measuring standard. Besides there are plenty of ODIs before Test Matches so not sure what additional benefit he is going to get other than exposing himself to more workload and injuries.

 

[BreadPakoda]

I'm not sure I feel positively towards this. Whilst it's great that he is seriously determined to rectify his failures in England, I feel that it's blatantly disrespectful to both their opponents and to the game for a captain to be sitting out from a Test match to be playing in a domestic level match

Indications are that India is not going to play its main team against Afghanistan. I see Bumrah, Bhuvi, Pujara and one of Jadeja and Ashwin resting too. Rahane will captain the side. Rohit/ Nair/ DK could play.

 

[www787]

In my opinion he is the best batsmen India has ever produce.

 

[Dead Ball]

There is no need to give such undue importance to playing and succeeding in England ... Kohli would have still gone down as a ATG if he never toured England again as they are no longer the measuring standard. Besides there are plenty of ODIs before Test Matches so not sure what additional benefit he is going to get other than exposing himself to more workload and injuries.

I am sure he dreams of leaving behind a near perfect cricketing record in all conditions. Great dedication. Wants to win India matches overseas.

I think the England tour will solidify his status as a modern test great. Already there in ODIs and T20s.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Well done Kohli. Exactly what I wanted him to do. [MENTION=143738]CanadianG00se[/MENTION] [MENTION=146753]Send1983[/MENTION] See Kohli is playing county cricket. What is your opinion now?

As long as he plays IPL i couldnt care what he does after that. Looks like Kohli found a middle ground to keep us both set of fans happy #Win-Win

 

[moghul]

India vs Afghanistan “test” is a joke and Kohli is too serious a cricketer . Done with SA in SA, he needs to perform in England and Australia to stamp his legacy. Cheap runs giants Afghanistan would have diluted his status .

 

[JaDed]

Unfortunate, the stints will not help imo.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Unfortunate, the stints will not help imo.

That would be true for player like Pujara, who have been playing county for very long but he is still utterly rubbish as soon as he step foot outside Asia. If there is one batsman team India need to have a look for overseas test, its him.

 

[angrypathan]

Indications are that India is not going to play its main team against Afghanistan. I see Bumrah, Bhuvi, Pujara and one of Jadeja and Ashwin resting too. Rahane will captain the side. Rohit/ Nair/ DK could play.

I have no issues with a player being rested and taking some time off to relax their body and mind, the workload on international cricketers these days is just too intense. But skipping a test match for your country to play in a domestic match in another just doesn't sit right with me

 

[kuskash]

Imran Khan used to miss series after series against weak opponents like Zim, Pak fans take it as an appropriate step but it is not appropriate for Kohli to do similar.

 

[CanadianG00se]

I have no issues with a player being rested and taking some time off to relax their body and mind, the workload on international cricketers these days is just too intense. But skipping a test match for your country to play in a domestic match in another just doesn't sit right with me

Even a Ranji team is more than enough for Afghanistan. Im more afraid of weather than Afg team. Its monsoon season and match could be affected by rain.

As far as Kohli playing domestic games for another country, we all know he is only using that platform to get used to with conditions in England that can help him and team, besides he is not needed for Afghanistan test.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Not just Kohli.

Test Specialists to be part of India A tour of England.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...nd-in-june-vinod-rai/articleshow/63444239.cms

 

[Rishta Aunty]

Great call. It's the only black spot on an otherwise flawless record. If he does well in this England tour, his place in the ATG pantheon will be confirmed.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Not just Kohli.

Test Specialists to be part of India A tour of England.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...nd-in-june-vinod-rai/articleshow/63444239.cms

Shardul Thakur could debut against Afghanistan? Rohit could captain? Damn.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Shardul Thakur could debut against Afghanistan? Rohit could captain? Damn.

Shardul Thakur getting test debut

There are better seamers than him in domestics who deserves chances ahead of him. I wouldnt mind U Yadav brought back.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Shardul Thakur getting test debut

There are better seamers than him in domestics who deserves chances ahead of him. I wouldnt mind U Yadav brought back.

The pacers would be Umesh and Shami if the latter is allowed to play.

 

[Hasan123]

Pujara has a longer stint this year iirc, he was gash last time so should improve on that at least

Was thinking of bowlers such as Bumrah and Yadav.

 

[BreadPakoda]

The pacers would be Umesh and Shami if the latter is allowed to play.

Its there in the article.

 

[CanadianG00se]

The pacers would be Umesh and Shami if the latter is allowed to play.

I seriously hope Shami gets cleared. He is very important for series in England in summer and Australia later in the year.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Its there in the article.

That was TOI speculating, not from the horse's mouth.

 

[BreadPakoda]

That was TOI speculating, not from the horse's mouth.

Yeah. That's why I wrote "could". The mere thought is scary.

 

[rhony]

All he did was adultery it appears. His wife lied about fixing and will probably settle. Shami already stated that his wife is not ready to reconcile. He will divorce and get his passport back.

 

[LegendAli]

He does not need a County stint to score runs in England. He is mentally a different player to what we saw in England in 2014, and the late summer English conditions are not going to be more challenging than the ones he conquered in South Africa. Much inferior batsmen have piled up the runs in England.

Nonetheless, this shows the sheer dedication of the man. This is massive for Surrey and their young players.

2014? Brah Kohli was in England last year or the year before IIRC and choked.

Talk about that will you, 2014... please.

 

[Slog]

Sloggy sometime I feel more than Kohli it's you who is obsessing more over his poor record in England. I see you mentioning it in every second post ever since he had a good tour of SA. Give it a rest will ya

well you have a very poor idea of what 'every second post' means

its literally the first post regarding this in weeks if not over a month

 

[Slog]

2014? Brah Kohli was in England last year or the year before IIRC and choked.

Talk about that will you, 2014... please.

huh?

he failed in 2014!

 

[Slog]

He wants to be an ATG among ATGs. Wants his name to be mentioned amongs the Tendulkars of the game with no bogey team. Thats the level he wants to achieve. To do so you need to have extraordinary genius level talent, which unfortunately he doesnot have. So he is trying to make up for that by sheer determination, grit and hard work.

I believe he has extraordinary genius talent and can probably be a better all round batsman than Tendulkar

In his later years Tendulkar showed he can grit out an innings and Kohli hasnt had the opportunity or need to show that yet (if you are talking about being complete batsman)

 

[IndianMafia]

My fear is Rohit might play that test and score a century and could probably get selected for England tour again !

 

[CanadianG00se]

My fear is Rohit might play that test and score a century and could probably get selected for England tour again !

He can’t do any worse than tailender batting at #3 for India

 

[Mamoon]

2014? Brah Kohli was in England last year or the year before IIRC and choked.

Talk about that will you, 2014... please.

India haven't played a bilateral series in England since 2014.

 

[Mamoon]

I believe he has extraordinary genius talent and can probably be a better all round batsman than Tendulkar

In his later years Tendulkar showed he can grit out an innings and Kohli hasnt had the opportunity or need to show that yet (if you are talking about being complete batsman)

Kohli does not have genius level talent, but his killer mentality has made him the player that he is today. Ability wise he is not in the league of Sachin, Lara and Viv, but he has matched them due to his mentality. Sachin's talent + Kohli's mentality = best batsman of all time.

Obviously he has a lot more talent than others, but I won't say that he has genius level ability.

 

[Slog]

Kohli does not have genius level talent, but his killer mentality has made him the player that he is today. Ability wise he is not in the league of Sachin, Lara and Viv, but he has matched them due to his mentality. Sachin's talent + Kohli's mentality = best batsman of all time.

Obviously he has a lot more talent than others, but I won't say that he has genius level ability.

We can agree to disagree. His pacing of a chase is best ever I've seen atleast. In terms of constructing an innings he is up there with the best and that is genius and not necessarily something you glean off a coaching manual

He was scoring tons of runs even in under 19 level and below. Obviously he didn't debut at 16 like sachin but that's no slight at his talent. Him debuting somewhat later was a combination of how modern cricket is and the fact that India had an ATG middle order when he was a teenager.

Yea he has some technical issues which he has improved but as a batsman I believe he has more impact and when he scores big he takes the game away from you like Viv or even Ponting. Imo same was not case with some of Sachin's big scores.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Why Surrey? It has one of the best tracks for batting and spin bowling.

He should have gone to Durham or Yorkshire but if the ball swings there he may never get bat on ball.

 

[Mamoon]

We can agree to disagree. His pacing of a chase is best ever I've seen atleast. In terms of constructing an innings he is up there with the best and that is genius and not necessarily something you glean off a coaching manual

He was scoring tons of runs even in under 19 level and below. Obviously he didn't debut at 16 like sachin but that's no slight at his talent. Him debuting somewhat later was a combination of how modern cricket is and the fact that India had an ATG middle order when he was a teenager.

Yea he has some technical issues which he has improved but as a batsman I believe he has more impact and when he scores big he takes the game away from you like Viv or even Ponting. Imo same was not case with some of Sachin's big scores.

The way he constructs an innings has a lot to do with the way he mentally approaches the game. He is very methodical in his batting and does not really blow you away with the shots that he plays, at least that is how I feel about him. When someone like Rohit in on top of his game, he makes you go wow.

Also, he never really stood out at junior level. Tendulkar was breaking all sorts of records in school cricket, while Kohli was just one of the many talented young batsmen in India. Even in the U-19 World Cup win, he did not stand out the way Gill did this year.

 

[ManFan]

If Kohli fails in England this time, there will be no excuses. I hope he doesn’t because than we will not have a definite answer to who the greatest batsman of this generation is. His obsession with England can make or break him. He can go the way of Daniel Cormier and let it get to his head. Make him over-think, try too hard and self-destruct. Or let the void fill him with an intensity to have a 76’-Viv-like tour of England. Here’s hoping to the best for Cheeku.

 

[cricketjoshila]

I believe he has extraordinary genius talent and can probably be a better all round batsman than Tendulkar

In his later years Tendulkar showed he can grit out an innings and Kohli hasnt had the opportunity or need to show that yet (if you are talking about being complete batsman)

He isnt genius level talent. If you ask me i will say i have seen only 3 geniuses.

Tendulkar,Wasim and Warne.

Lara and ABDV are very close to that level

 

[ataullah]

Virat Kohli: Surrey sign India captain for six matches in June

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/43994038


India captain Virat Kohli has agreed a deal to play for Surrey in June.

The 29-year-old right-hander will feature in three County Championship matches and three One-Day cup games.

Kohli, who averages more than 50 in all formats for his country, will lead India in a five-match Test series against England starting in August.

"It's long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I'm thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity," he said.

Kohli will miss India's inaugural Test match with Afghanistan in June while playing for Surrey.

 

[AFM]

Surrey play against Hampshire in June. Steyn will be playing for them then. We could see Steyn v Kohli.