Last week, the flamboyant Indian skipper Virat Kohli sealed the deal with Surrey for his maiden county stint for next month. However, the cricketing fraternity is curious to know that who took the first step in sealing the deal. Former England skipper, Alec Stewart, who is also Surrey’s director told Sportstar that they had been following up the regarding the deal with Virat since he wished to play county cricket, a year and a half back.
During the home series against England in December 2016, Kohli had acknowledged that wi considering to play county cricket if he could fit it into his schedule in the lead up to India’s tour of England this year.
And, only after hearing this, Stewart got in touch with the India skipper. During a telephonic interaction on Sunday with Sportstar, he said, “All I did was just following it 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 it on Thursday. It is a long process, and something we were waiting for so that it can benefit two parties.”
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The last time India toured England in 2014, Kohli had a forgettable outing with 134 runs in five Tests, with an average of 13.40. But now with India set to take on England again and his maiden county stint will only help him to get acclimatized to the weather conditions of England.
However, Alec thinks the other way around, he said, “Virat is considered the best player in the world. He will score runs all around the world, he is that good a player, though his last Test series here was indifferent by his standards. I expect him to score everywhere in the world, including England, whether it is county cricket or international cricket.”
Kohli’s maiden county outing will last for around a month in which he will be featuring in three championship games and a minimum of three 50 over games. Revealing how Surrey will make use of the renowned batsman, Alec said, “We are getting one of the best players, if not the best, in the world. He wanted to play county cricket and it may help him in getting ready for the Test series. 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 a cricketing education and we are getting a world-class player.”
Stewart also looking forward to working with BCCI if they can allow the English cricketers go and play first-class cricket in India. It can only help everyone.
Despite the fact that Virat enjoys a lavish lifestyle in India, a county outing could well be different. Talking about the same, Surrey’s directors clarified, “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.”
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In the past, legends like Kumar Sangakkara, Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting have played for Surrey. And now, Stewart admits that the doors will be open for Kohli in the future too. He described. “I will take Virat every day. Whenever he is available and he likes to play, he will be welcome. If he is available again and it works for everyone, we will look at it.”
With less than a month left for Kohli’s trip to Surrey, both the Indian captain and the club would be hoping to make this outing the one to remember.
