Former English pacer Bob Willis has termed Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s decision to play county cricket as ‘nonsense’. Willis expressed his anger over foreign players practicing their craft in county cricket, saying it hampers the growth of local players.

Willis harshly criticized Surrey’s decision, “I can’t stand overseas players in county cricket. It doesn’t benefit the players stranded in the second XI year on year and the youngster. They’re going to pay Kohli, presumably, five figures a match so he can hone his skills in English conditions before a Test series. It’s nonsense.”

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He further added, “He should be made to suffer an average 30 in England as he has done before. We don’t want England starting to lose Test matches at home because we’re accommodating all of these visiting players.”

The Indian team will be touring to England for a full series starting with the limited-overs leg comprising 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs and followed by 5 Tests. Just before that, India plays T20I matches in Ireland, which will be held after the home Test against Afghanistan gets over on June 18.

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Despite the fact that Virat Kohli has scored runs all over the world, he has struggled to make an impact with his bat in the English conditions. With just 134 runs in five Test matches at an average of 13.40, the tour will definitely provide a certain chance to Kohli to achieve the numero uno spot and rise above the likes of Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith.

Along with Kohli, Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma along with Varun Aaron are other Indians who will be pursuing their trade in county cricket this year.