CoA chief gives freedom to Virat Kohli to pick one between Afghanistan Test and County

Team India is all set to lock horns against Afghanistan in the one-off historic Test which will mark the debut of the latter country in the format. But the news that Virat Kohli will skip the game and play the County cricket in order to prepare himself for the upcoming England series has miffed some of the fans. Moreover, it was recently reported that even BCCI and Committee of Administrators (CoA) was divided over the matter. However, the chief Vinod Rai has cleared now it will be completely Virat’s decision whether to play or skip the Test against Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is supposed to play India in whites on June 14 in Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. But if reports are to be believed, Kohli has already penned down a deal with Surrey to play the County Cricket ahead of the England tour. In that case, he will fly to the country soon after the conclusion of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Vinod Rai clears the air

The chief of CoA, Vinod Rai, cleared that it will be Virat Kohli’s decision whether to play against Afghanistan or in County Championship. He also stressed the fact that they have always backed the players to feature in County cricket in order to improve themselves. “CoA has taken a conscious decision to encourage the players, especially test specialists, to play county and hone their skills for the England series,” he told ANI.

He also went on to say that they were also not stopping any player from playing against the Test debutants. “No question of stopping them to play versus Afghanistan. The team that played in Sri Lanka will play versus Afghanistan. Afghanistan is playing versus India and not Virat Kohli,” he added. The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma are also plying their trade in England currently.

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