An Indian Test captain has decided to give a landmark Test match at home a miss, to instead play County cricket in England.
Landmark Test or not, no Indian captain has ever chosen to/been allowed to give an international game a miss to play a domestic league, let alone one in England.
But these are the times of Virat Kohli.
From choosing whom he wants – rather, doesn't want – as the Indian coach to missing an entire series to fulfill personal commitments, the current Indian captain has found himself in a unique position where he’s allowed to venture into territories no predecessor of his has.
Virat’s one month stint at Surrey though has been planned keeping in mind India’s upcoming tour of England that starts on 3 July. The Test series, however, starts in August. But England, for Virat, is the one unconquered territory in his glowing CV. The last time India toured the country, Virat managed to score just 134 runs in 10 innings at an average of 13. He was 25 back then but he’s 29 now and the batting mainstay in the line-up.
He was the team’s highest-scorer in the last two Test series, against Sri Lanka and South Africa. So, to have Virat in top form is integral for India.
However, did he really need to miss an international match for it? His Surrey schedule in fact allow Virat to fly back home for the Test and return in time for his next County commitment.
There are indeed a few questions doing the rounds about his Surrey summer. Watch the video for more.
(Camera: Shiv Kumar Maurya, Editor: Kunal Mehra)
(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit Send.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)