Neck injury rules out Kohli’s Surrey stint

New Delhi, May 24 

India captain Virat Kohli’s much-hyped participation in the English County Championship was today ruled out due to a neck injury, throwing his meticulously planned build-up for the UK tour into disarray. Kohli will require a three-week rehabilitation to recover from the injury, the severity of which was not specified by the Indian cricket board (BCCI). 

The 29-year-old will undergo a fitness test on June 15, BCCI said. That test will confirm his availability for the initial phase of the limited-overs tour, starting with two T20 Internationals against Ireland in the last week of June. India will begin the series against England with T20Is in early July.

“Virat Kohli suffered a neck injury while fielding during the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 17 in Bengaluru,” BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a press release. “Kohli, who was scheduled to play for Surrey in the month of June, has been ruled out from participating. This decision was taken following assessments by BCCI’s medical team, subsequent scans, and a specialist’s visit,” the release further stated.

The Indian captain will now undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of BCCI’s medical team, and subsequently undergo a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on June 15.  “The medical team is confident that Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India’s upcoming tours of Ireland and England,” Choudhary stated.

India’s limited-overs series against England starts on July 3 with the first T20 International at Old Trafford. The marquee five-match Test series starts on August 1 in Birmingham.  

Huge workload

It won’t be out of place to take a glance at Kohli’s workload, which is massive indeed. In the last one year, he has played nine Tests, 29 ODIs and 9 T20Is. In all, he played 47 international matches, with only Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya (48 each) playing a match more than him. Add to it the 14 IPL matches, and his tally goes up to 61.

Was his workload being monitored and managed well? NCA is responsible for monitoring and managing the workload and injury issues of the centrally-contracted cricketers. The IPL franchisees’ physios and trainers are supposed to give weekly updates about their (contracted players) workload and fitness to the national team trainers and NCA. Yet, the injury struck.

Disappointing

Both Kohli and Surrey would be disappointed at the turn of events. The stint would have helped as far as Kohli’s preparations for the England tour are concerned. The Indian skipper, who had scored just 138 runs in 10 Test innings in England four years ago, appears desperate to change the script this time around. Missing the stint, therefore, is quite a big setback for him. 

Surrey was hoping to benefit from Kohli’s visit, so they also must be feeling let-down. England’s team, especially its bowlers, however, would be happy with the development. For them, a missed Surrey stint means a less-prepared Indian skipper. —Agencies