IPL 2018: Gary Kirsten Reckons Virat Kohli's Stint at Surrey to Help Team India as Well

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) coach Gary Kirsten, backed Indian captain Virat Kohli for his stint at Surrey prior to the start of the gruelling England tour in July.

India will play a three-match One-day International series and as many Twenty20 Internationals, along with a five-match Test series.

In the last two visits to the United Kingdom for a five-match Test series, India was handed humiliating defeats and managed to win just one game out of the ten they’ve played, under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Further, Kohli holds a dismal average in Test matches in England, largely due to his torrid tour to England in 2014, where he fell prey to the likes of James Anderson.

“Playing domestic cricket season in the UK is a great opportunity. And, every player in the world aspires to play there. Kohli playing the season is going to be helpful for him to familiarise with the conditions. It will be helpful for the Indian team too,” Gary Kirsten commented during the launch of his academy in Pune.

Kohli was given the green signal by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who decided to skip the One-off Test against Afghanistan, in order to take part in the 2018 County Championship.

World Cup-winning former Indian coach, Kirsten, expects a good performance from the Indian team who received adulations in the recently held South African tour.

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Would be unfair to compare the current Indian team with the World Cup-winning team: Kirsten

“I haven’t watched the Indian team’s performance lately. But, India has always been a strong team with so many strong players. So, I don’t have any doubts about their performance on the tour of England,” conceded Kirsten.

However, the former Proteas opener Kirsten reckoned that England is now a force to reckon with in all formats of the game now.

Therefore, India should prepare for stiff challenges during the upcoming tour.

“Test cricket has always been dear to the England team and they take it very seriously. However, since the last World Cup, they have done great work on their ODI team and are now ranked No. 1. So it’s going to be a challenging series,” expressed former Indian coach.

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When asked to compare the current Indian lot to that of the world cup winning squad of 2011, Gary Kirsten suggested that it would be unfair to compare two teams of different era’s.

“It would be unfair to compare the current Indian team with the World Cup-winning team of 2011. I haven’t been closely watching this team’s performance,” concludes Gary Kirsten.

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