Not India!! Virat Kohli agrees to play Domestic Cricket in this country after Australia tragedy

India's veteran cricketer Virat Kohli is likely to have a stint in County cricket before the Test series against England in June 2025. Kohli was in horrific form recently in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

He struggled against the ball moving away numerous times as Australian bowlers were all over him. Kohli's weakness outside off stump was exposed in the series as all of his dismissals came with his outside edge being caught behind the wickets.

Also read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Ravindra Jadeja's participation under massive threat

Virat Kohli eyes stint in County Cricket

According to RevSportz, Virat Kohli will play some County cricket in order to prepare for India's Test series against England. However, that is likely to be possible only if Royal Challengers Bengaluru do not make it to the IPL 2025 playoffs this year.

If RCB reach the playoffs, Kohli will have very little time to play county cricket. The IPL 2025 final is on May 25 and India's Test series against England will begin from June 20 at Leeds, Headingley.

If RCB makes it to the final, Kohli will hardly have 14 days to play county cricket and getting used to playing in English conditions. If this happens, he is unlikely to feature in English domestic cricket.

Virat Kohli is one of the high-profile names of the Indian Premier League and it seems unlikely that RCB will release him for County cricket in case their team reaches the playoffs. A lot is at stake in the IPL which makes it highly unlikely for the 36-year-old to play domestic cricket.

Moreover, Kohli is in running to be RCB's captain this year which makes him an even more important player for his team. He is currently the highest run-scorer of IPL history and was also the top run-getter in the last season.

Gautam Gambhir and Ravi Shastri back Indian Test players to play domestic cricket

Recently, India head coach Gautam Gambhir stressed upon playing domestic cricket in order to prepare for red-ball cricket. While Gambhir didn't take any names, he called for the Test cricketers to make themselves available for Ranji Trophy regularly.

Recently, former India head coach also called Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play domestic cricket in their bid to gain form in Test cricket. Shastri believes that domestic cricket would help both these players to prolong their Test career.

"If there's a gap for them, I think they should go back and play some domestic cricket and see how it is, because when you play Test cricket for that length of time, it's important to play domestic cricket," Shastri told the ICC Review.

Players who have skipped franchise cricket for Tests

Various high-profile cricketers have skipped franchise cricket in the past to prepare themselves for the grind of Test cricket. Australia's Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have gone back to playing domestic cricket while skipping important franchise tournaments.

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli scored 190 runs across five Tests at a miserabke averge of 23.75. He struck s hundred in the first Test but started fading away since.