Indian skipper Virat Kohli can play under Rahul Dravid for India A
With his contract with Surrey, it seems unclear how the BCCI is going to work out Virat Kohli's schedule.
Team India skipper Virat Kohli does not want to leave any stone unturned for England. As per the reports, the 29-year old Kohli if needed, will feature for India A side during their encounter against England Lions’ at Worcester in the 4-day Test match.
A BCCI official who did not want to reveal his identity while talking to PTI said that the English weather can play spoilsport and that’s why BCCI and the Indian skipper doesn’t want to miss out any opportunity of preparing for the all-important series, which fans, as well as the experts, claim that it will be his biggest batting as well as captaincy test.
When the BCCI announced the Indian squad for the 2-match T20I series against Ireland, Kohli’s name came as a surprise. The dates of two games would clash with Kohli’s last match with his county cricket team Surrey. However, the above mentioned BCCI official says that Kohli can skip the county match for the national assignment.
“The situation is pretty fluid right now. There is an arrangement with Surrey which allows Virat to honour his national commitment. So if he gets sufficient match time in the first two games, we might see him skipping the Yorkshire match and play both T20Is. But then there is no guarantee of English weather,” said the BCCI official.
BCCI can request ECB to change the date of Lions’ match
The Indian board is also keeping in mind that too much of cricket ahead of the series can take a toll on the Indian skipper’s body. Thinking about the same, BCCI might request England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to push back the dates of India A and England Lion’s 4-day Test match.
As per the current schedule, India A will face the Lions’ side on 16th of July while the third and final ODI against the English side will be taking place on July 17. To get the players in the Test match mood, there is a possibility that the Indian board can request the English counterparts to punish the Lions’ game.
The senior official added that the Indian skipper will be a playing the three-match ODI series first and then will play two county games while further decisions will be taken as per the situation.”All we can say at the moment is Virat is playing the three Royal London Cup matches followed by two county games till June 23. Post that, any decision that will be taken will depend on the situation that he will be in,” the BCCI official told the news agency PTI.
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