India captain Virat Kohli will be heading to Surrey for a county stint ahead of India’s tour to England, starting from July 3 in Manchester.
Kohli will become the first Indian to join Surrey, which has been one of the powerhouses of County Championship Division One. The Delhi lad is likely to make himself available for three of Surrey’s four-day matches between June 9 and 28.
He will play in three matches against Hampshire, Somerset and Yorkshire before the actual tour of England commence with T20ꦯ Internationals. His ꦆstint with Surrey will surely help him resolve few technical glitches in his batting and England might face an entirely new form of his batting this time around.
The 29-year-old will thus miss Afghanistan’s first-ever Test match, which will be played against India in Bengaluru from June 14.
Kohli is expected to head to England soon after the completion of his commitm🧸e🐲nts with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.
Twitterati was thrilled af🐻ter the news broke out and praised the Indian skipper to the fulle﷽st for his decision.
Here’s are some of the Twitter reactions:
Virat Kohli 's decision to play county cricket before the England series shows his drive and commitment to achieve excellence. I am sure not only him,but Team India will do exceedingly well in the England series. Best wishes!
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281)
Virat Kohli has made a strong statement of intent about the England tour where he has unfinished business by opting to play county cricket. In doing so, has al🅰so prioritised opposition by missing the test against Afghanistan
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha)
//twitter.com/Rahulsiioo/status/977427389016784♌898
//twi♔tter.com/KaranArjunSm/𝐆status/977418711354101760
So it is finally pub♋lic. Knew about it for weeks. to play county cricket in June ahead of the Eng series to prepare. V good call.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar)
. playing the County Championship is incredible news! Priorities of him are cওlearly evident. Knowing your weakness and working over it shows intent. This will drive not just him but the entire team to do well.
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani)
//twitter.com🔴﷽/Physco_Ashu/status/977432459125149697
. to play county cricket in June as India prepare to take on England. 🎶This is a top decision by the Indian capꦿtain. A captain is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way! All the best
— Mikkhail Vaswani (@MikkhailVaswani)
Champion decision by a champion player . you have proved once again your zeal to Excel this team in Englanꩵd. come with hour come with the man.
— gaggan (@gagan_sirpal)
//twitter.com/tarunj096/status/977431960594206722
Roses are red, Violets are blue… Oye , Time to walk all over you!!!
Kohli’s decison to play co🔯unty cricket will play a huge role in deciding the series. There was never any doubt about the dedication and passion of this man. Respect 🙌🏼👏🏻— Nik (@InJail_Out_So0n)
Virat Kohli to play county cricket post IPL in June before Eng🌺land tour. True sign of 100% dedication for the test cricket. Will definitely help him overcome the mistakes he made ꦯduring his previous stint.
— LOLendra Singh (@LOLendraSingh)
So Virat kohli is Playing County🐟 Season this yr for Preparation of ENG tour.. Commitment level -Virat kohli 👏👏
— गौरव शर्मा (@gauravindoriya)
Great initiative by for playing the Couꦅnty Cricket right before the England tour! Dedication at the level best
— Jainam Shah (@JJainamShah7)
ECB must be ecstatic on hearing Virat Kohli playing ♌county cricket, block✤buster draw💰 for them.
— Rasool (@ImRASOOL)
Great decision by to play for bef🌸ore the Englandꩵ tour!!
— Cricket Lover🏏 (@Sandy14999)
