Fatigue and niggles seem to be coming in the way of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s much-hyped maiden county stint to just a couple of first-class matches for Surrey after a hospital visit by him raised injury concerns. According to some of the reports, Kohli had visited a hospital in Mumbai for a check-up and reports says that he has been diagnosed with the slipped disc injury and will not be playing for Surrey ahead of the UK tour starting with two T20 Internationals against Ireland in June.
However, a top BCCI official, who is managing to Kohli’s county engagements, clarified that it is a case of “neck sprain” and not a “slipped disc injury” as reported. He said, “Yes, Virat has had fatigue issues, and this is a case of workload management rather than injury management. But it isn’t a case of a slipped disc. As of now, we will be monitoring his workload.” He further added, “We are chalking a plan wherein his county stint will be curtailed. He will play two four-day matches as per the original plan and not the five Royal London Cup (50 over) matches.”
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Asked why he visited a spinal surgeon at Khar medical facility, the official said: “Virat had suffered a neck sprain during an IPL match in Jaipur (RCB’s final game). The pain had subsided, but he went for a precautionary check-up.”
Virat sustained the injury during the game played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on May 17. The BCCI medical team assessed the Indian captain and after doing some required scans, advised him to undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the same team. While Kohli had been looking forward to his County stint with much excitement, the neck injury will make it difficult for him to participate in County Championship.
BCCI’s media released regarded to Kohli’s injury stated, “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 Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India’s upcoming tours to Ireland and England.”
However, there is no denying to the fact that Kohli has had a tremendous workload during the past one year starting June 2017. He has played in all the nine Tests that India featured since June 2017. He also took part in 29 of the 32 One-Day Internationals and nine of the 18 T20Is played in the last 12 months, overall featuring in 47 of the 59 international games that India partook in.
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Virat has already been skipping Afghanistan’s maiden Test after having committed to Surrey for the month of June. However, the one question that begs to be answered is if Kohli was facing workload issue then why did Kohli not rest himself from a few matches during the IPL?
The BCCI has already put a program in place where the centrally contracted cricketers’ workload and injury management is monitored through the National Cricket Academy.
Indian physios and trainers are supposed to give weekly updates to the national team trainers and the ones present at the NCA. The BCCI has already put a program in place where the centrally contracted cricketers’ workload and injury management is monitored through the National Cricket Academy.
