Surrey to pay Virat Kohli nominal match fees for his stint in the County Championship

Virat Kohli is set to play for Surrey in the month of June as the news was confirmed earlier this week by the County club itself. There is a lot of excitement already in the United Kingdom that one of the best cricketers in the world will be plying his trade in the County Championship for the first time. Despite being the top-earning cricketer, Surrey have bagged the services of the Indian skipper cheaply as he is keen on ensuring the game time in the middle ahead of the crucial England tour in July.

Kohli will be available for Surrey to play 3 One-Day games and the same number of four-day matches during his one-month stay with the team. His first match in the country will be in the limited-overs format against Kent on June 1 in Beckenham after which he will face the bowling of Middlesex and Glamorgan. Interestingly, he will face-off against Cheteshwar Pujara who is playing for Yorkshire before concluding his stint.

How much will Kohli be paid?

Virat Kohli is keen on ensuring some game time before the tour and is least cared about the amount being paid to him. Many believed it to be a million dollar deal which is not the case at all. “Contrary to popular belief that Virat will cost a bomb for Surrey, it was completely the other way round. Let’s get it clear. Surrey is paying airfare, accommodation and a very nominal match fee during the month, a senior BCCI official was quoted as saying by News 18.

“Since the Board and Virat himself was very keen, the monetary part was least of concern for us. We are not at liberty to quote the amount but it will be a very nominal amount that he will be paid and that is at par with any standard county player. We can vouch it’s a win-win deal for Surrey as well as for the BCCI,” he added.

The news of the Indian captain signing a deal with Surrey was out in the Indian media in March itself. But the BCCI was concerned about how much the County will use the image of Kohli for marketing which delayed in confirming all the things.

“Obviously, Surrey wants to cash in on his image. But then Virat’s focus will be six games. There will be curiosity and marketing opportunities but we don’t want our captain to be unduly disturbed by peripheral activities. He is going there to prepare for England series and if he scores runs, it helps Surrey,” the official further informed.

It will be interesting to see the way Virat Kohli fares with the bat in England as he is keen on improving his record in the country.