ENG vs IND 2018: Not Playing County Cricket was the Best Thing to Happen - Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, on Friday (June 22), said the long break after IPL and the decision to forgo his county stint has turned out to be a blessing in disguise and helped him rejuvenate for the two-month-long tour.

To prepare himself for the England tour, Kohli had signed up with county outfit Surrey for June. Such was his desperation to get used to the conditions that he gave the one-off Test against Afghanistan a miss.

However, his hopes got dashed due to a neck injury he suffered during the Indian Premier League 2018.

As a result, he had to undergo rehabilitation to regain fitness. And although missing out on the county stint might have robbed him of some ideal preparation for the England tour, Kohli is not at all disappointed.

“In hindsight, not playing county cricket was the best thing to happen at that moment. Although I wanted to experience the conditions, that’s a place where we haven’t played so much. There is a big gap of four years. I wanted the damp conditions to acclimatise,” he said ahead of leaving for Ireland.

“But when I look at it now, if I was 90 per cent with my body attempted to get used to the conditions, now I am 110 per cent and I would much rather be in this position. I need to be fresh, and that was the best thing to happen. I am excited to go on the field again,” he added.

India will play two T20Is against Ireland before visiting England. They will play three T20Is, three ODIs and five Tests in England. 

Virat Kohli will be keen to do well in England this time around. Virat had a forgettable Test series when India visited England in 2014.

The current India captain had scored only 134 runs from ten innings, as India lost the series 3-1. He scored 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6 and 20 in the five Tests and finished the series with an average of 13.50.