‘Have been following up with Kohli for 18 months’

Indian skipper can help Surrey and the county can provide cricket for him, says the former England captain

As India captain Virat Kohli looks forward to his month-long stint with Surrey, Alec Stewart, the director of cricket at the English county side, said that they had been following up with Kohli for the last 18 months to strike the deal.

During the home series against England in December, 2016, Kohli had admitted that he would love to play county cricket if he could fit it into his schedule in the lead up to India’s tour of England this year.

Kept in touch

And only after hearing this, Stewart, a former England captain, got in touch with the India skipper. “All I did was to follow up with Virat at that time. At some stage, we kept in contact with him and his advisors just to see (how it goes) and it looked like the BCCI may be involved in it.

“They finally gave the okay last week and then we announced on Thursday. It is a long process, and something we were waiting for so that it can benefit both parties,” Stewart told the Sportstar during a telephonic interaction on Sunday.

With India set to tour England won’t this stint help Kohli get acclimatised to the conditions better?

“We are getting one of the best players, if not the best, in the world. He will be here for three championship games and a minimum of three 50-over games that can help Surrey and it can help Virat by providing cricket for him.

“He wanted to play county cricket and it may help him in getting ready for the Test series,” he said, adding: “When you look at it, he is only playing one game at a Test ground which is the Ageas Bowl, which I don’t think India is playing in, anyway. So, he is getting cricketing educating and we are getting a world-class player.”

Stewart, however, makes it clear that there won’t be any special arrangements for Kohli. “If you play for us, you do what the team does. He will be a part of the team both on and off the field. He (Virat) will be no different.

“He is looking forward to (playing here) and we are looking forward to him arriving,” the former cricketer, who featured in 133 Tests and 170 ODIs for England, said.