BCCI Wants Virat Kohli to Lead India Against Afghanistan in the Historic Test
While Virat Kohli is keen to spend as much time as possible while playing county cricket ahead of the tough England tour, in the United Kingdom (UK). On the hindsight, it seems the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is thinking too much on different lines.
The Indian board wants a national captain to play the historic One-off Test fixture against Afghanistan. The Test match is scheduled to kick off on June 14 in Bengaluru.
In such a scenario, Kohli will have to either skip or alter his plans – to play county season in England.
According to The Times of India, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) is keen on Kohli spending maximum time in England, in order to get adapted to the conditions.
However, the BCCI holds a different view. The cash-rich Board feels that Kohli skipping the Test will tantamount to disrespecting their opponent.
Quick Read: Afghanistan Cricket Board to Send 43 Cricketers to India for Training
The much-awaited Test will be Afghanistan’s first in the longest format of the game. Th Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) achieved a Test status in June 2017 alongside Ireland.
“If a decision has been taken to allow the India captain to miss an international game and play County cricket at that point of time, it would set a very bad precedent,” BCCI official said.
“It would give a very bad message to the visiting Afghanistan team; that maybe the opponents aren’t worthy for us. It would be disrespectful to the Afghanistan team and also, it would be unfair on the broadcaster. (Even if) he is playing in England at that time, he can come back for one Test and then fly back. And if he is so keen to play County cricket, has he sought permission to miss his IPL games?,” the source added.
The report further suggested that at the time being everything is speculative. Neither CoA has requested Kohli to play county cricket nor has BCCI expressed its wish of seeing Kohli leading the team against Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Kohli would be desperate to do well in England this time around.
Last time, India had visited England, Kohli had endured a disastrous outing. India lost the series 3-1, and Kohli was one of the worst performers. He averaged just 13.40 in ten innings with a top score of 39.
The 29-year old Virat Kohli was dismissed for single-digit scores on six occasions in the series.
He recently said that he was keen to play county cricket ahead of the series.
“Playing county cricket will help me improve my game. I think it makes things more challenging and more competitive and there are no guarantees whether you are going to do well even if you go in advance. It is just about giving yourself some more opportunity to get used to the conditions that you are not used to,” he had said in a recent interview.
Also, Read: Team India Not Scheduled to Face Afghanistan During 2019-2023 Cycle
