Virat Kohli's County Stint Makes Me Nervous As An England Fan, Admits Graeme Swann

Former England spinner Graeme Swann has admitted that Virat Kohli’s upcoming county stint with Surrey ahead of the England tour has made him ‘bit nervous’ as an England fan.

The India skipper will play for Surrey for the month of June in order to prepare for the England tour. In 2014, Kohli had endured a torrid time, scoring only 134 runs from 10 innings as India had 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.

However, Kohli has come a long way since that disastrous tour. He is arguably the best batsman in the world right now and has already proved himself in Australia and South Africa. During the tour of Australia in 2014-15, he had slammed four hundreds in four Tests.

The Indian captain has since also scored six double hundreds including four in successive series. Against England in the five-Test series at home, Kohli scored 655 runs and led India to a 4-0 triumph. He was also in top form in South Africa, smashing 871 runs across formats. He was the leading run-scorer in the Test and ODI series. The right-handed batsman will now be eager to leave his mark in England too.

“It makes me a bit nervous as an England fan that Virat’s coming early to play for Surrey,” Swann said on the sidelines of an ESPNCricinfo event. “To be honest, I’d pay money to watch Virat bat. He’s a beautiful batsman to watch. I think he will (have a good tour). Unless he plays against Jimmy (Anderson) or Broady (Stuart Broad) in county games, I don’t think (it’ll help) because they’re so much better than the county bowlers. I think it’s good that English cricket allowed foreign players to come over and train before (a tour).”

Swann further said that India’s chances in the upcoming series depends a lot on how Kohli performs against James Anderson. The England pace spearhead had troubled Kohli a lot during India’s previous tour of England in 2014, picking 25 wickets in the series.

“It all depends how Virat Kohli copes with Jimmy Anderson because Virat had a terrible in England last time around. He’s the best batsman in the world at the moment I think. And if he goes well, he could inspire Indians very well. I’m hoping it’ll be a good series,” said Swann.

India will play three T20Is, three ODIs and 5 Tests against England.