Indian captain Virat Kohli has made a decision to skip the Test match against Afghanistan and play County Cricket for Surrey instead. Virat has a very ordinary record in England so far and he is raring to better it. In his last series, Kohli averaged 13.40 across 10 innings on his only previous Test tour of England in 2014.
Surrey County Cricket Club officially announced their deal with Kohli on Thursday on their website www.kiaoval.com.”Surrey County Cricket Club are delighted to announce the signing of India captain Virat Kohli for the month of June,” the club announced on their website www.kiaoval.com.
“We are thrilled to have signed the biggest name in world cricket for the month of June. Playing and training alongside Virat will be a massive benefit for our players who will have the opportunity to learn so much from him.”
At a time when there is much discussion around the future of county cricket, the arrival of Virat should give our domestic game a massive boost and positive exposure around the cricketing world which in turn can benefit every county,” Alec Stewart, former England captain and now Surrey’s director of cricket, said.
Virat Kohli also expressed his gratitude on being given a chance by Surrey County Club. This is what he said:
“It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season,” said Kohli. “I can`t wait to get to The Oval [Surrey`s home ground],” the ICC website quoted the 29-year-old, as saying.
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However, Australian cricket journalist Dennis Freedman, who recently visited Pakistan and made a documentary, has a very different view on Virat Kohli’s decision to play County Cricket.
Dennis Freedman aka Dennis Does Cricket has a decent following on social media and he is known for his ‘troll-rants’ on Indian cricket, BCCI and Indian cricketers, specially Virat Kohli. This is what he posted on his Facebook page:
“Kohli skipping the Afghanistan Test to play County cricket is a disgrace, disrespectful and shows him as a BCCI child who is stereotypically selfish, insular and entitled.”
