Virat Kohli will not be playing for Surrey this season after the India captain saw his keenly anticipated spell at the club cancelled because of injury.
India’s five-Test series in England later in the summer – and Kohli’s struggles against the moving Dukes ball on his previous tour of the country in 2014 – had led him to set up a month-long stint at the county that was due to begin on 1 June. But now the Board of Control for Cricket in India has confirmed that the 29-year-old is struggling with a neck injury sustained during his recent Indian Premier League campaign and will instead undertake his rehabilitation at home.
The board’s statement read: “Team India Captain Mr Virat Kohli suffered a neck injury while fielding during Match 51 of the VIVO IPL between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 17th May 2018 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
“Mr Kohli, who was scheduled to play for Surrey CCC in the month of June, has been ruled out from participating. The Team India captain will now undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI Medical team.
“He will begin training and subsequently undergo a fitness test at the NCA in Bengaluru from June 15. The BCCI Medical Team is confident that Mr Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India’s upcoming tours to Ireland and England.”
Though England’s bowlers will doubtless be buoyed by the news that the world’s premier all-format batsman will have less time to acclimatise to conditions, it is a blow for Surrey and indeed county cricket itself given the excitement surrounding the deal.
Kohli, who scored just 138 runs in 10 Test innings in England four years ago, was due to begin his time playing in the 50-over Royal London Cup, starting away to Kent at Beckenham on 1 June, before three County Championship fixtures at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, against Somerset at Guildford and then away to Yorkshire in Scarborough.
India are due to begin their tour with two Twenty20s in Ireland from 14 June. They will then cross the Irish Sea for three more T20s against England and then three one-day internationals, before the marquee five-Test series gets underway at Edgbaston on 1 August.