Virat had a poor outing in the India tour of England 2014 when he scored just 134 runs in 5 tests at an average of 13.4.This series raised eyebrows regarding his selection in the longer format of the game. Later, Kohli answered the critics amassing four centuries in the overseas tour of Australia(692 runs).
This marks his absence in the historic test against Afghanistan in the month of June at Bangalore. Kohli will leave to represent surrey soon after IPL comes to an end.
Kohli is expected to represent Surrey in three four day test matches against Hampshire, Somerset, and Yorkshire. It is to be noted that Pujara will be playing for Yorkshire as they have extended the contract and a battle against him and Kohli is likely to happen.
He will play alongside Aaron Finch, Jason Roy, Mark Stoneman, Tom Curran and Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman hailed Kohli for his commitment towards the game. He said “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!”
India will tour England in July later this year for all the formats of the game. The series will feature 3 T20″s, 3 ODI”s and 5 test matches. The tour Kickstarts with the T20I on July 3rd.
It will be interesting to see Virat “s approach against the English at their home turf as this is his first assignment to Europe as a full-time captain. India had lost the test series in the 2011 and 2014. While Ishant Sharma was hailed for his heroics in the Lords test in 2014, India was not able to make any stellar performances in the series. With a full-strength squad, India will try to come out all guns blazing against the English.