Dean Jones Backs Virat Kohli to Play County Cricket Ahead of England Tour
Updated - 10 Jan 2019, 01:36 AM
Former Australia batsman, Dean Jones has backed Team India skipper Virat Kohli’s decision to play county cricket ahead of India’s tour of England.
The Men in Blue will play three ODI’s and as many T20I’s before a five-match Test series. It will be a huge test for Kohli both, as a batsman and a skipper. Hence he has decided to acclimatise to the English conditions before the series starts.
He had a horrendous outing the last time India toured England. Kohli ended up scoring only 134 runs in ten innings at a below-par average of 13.40. Kohli will miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan from June 14 to 18. Ajinkya Rahane will lead in his absence. Jones said it would bring rich dividends for Kohli.
“It will be superb for him. I think he will love it. I loved playing county cricket. It will be great for a lot of Indian boys to go there. Like [Sunil] Gavaskar, all the greats have been there. As a routine, there is a lot of wind in England, but it’s a situation that would help him.”
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“He must try to make sure that he finishes this particular tour [on a high] just to remind everyone that he can play the swinging ball. He made a hundred [153 at Centurion] in South Africa where it swung all over the place, so there is nothing [wrong] about his technique,” Jones told mid-day.
He was present for a promotional event for his book Dean Jones’ Cricket Tips yesterday. It must be noted the former Aussie batsman played county cricket for Durham and Derbyshire between 1992 and 1997.
Meanwhile, the Virat revealed earlier he wanted to play county cricket. It is especially because he had a pretty forgettable series in England the last time around. India went on to lose the Test series 1-3.
However, they won the ODI series. India will start the five-Test campaign against England from 3rd July.
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Virat Kohli