Former India international Sanjay Manjrekar has urged Virat Kohli to play more red-ball cricket, especially ahead of the England tour in the upcoming summer. The star India batter announced himself in Australia with a remarkable century in Perth but since then, he has failed to live up to the potential and constantly fell prey to outside off-stump deliveries. He ended the series with only 190 runs to his name after five matches.
After suffering a humiliating 3-1 defeat to Australia, BCCI officials made it mandatory for the cricketers to feature in domestic cricket more regularly to cement their spot in the Test squad. Virat Kohli was in the reckoning to play in the Ranji Trophy for Delhi in the forthcoming round against Saurashtra but as per the latest report, the 36-year-old is expected to skip it, owing to a neck injury.
Manjrekar meanwhile has advised Kohli to play county cricket, the same as Cheteshwar Pujara did after he was dropped from the Test squad. He believes that it will be sensible for the cricketer to do ahead of the England series as his spot in the playing XI is currently under the scanner. The 59-year-old also noted that in case Kohli struggles to make a mark on the England tour, he could be dropped from the Test squad.
“Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket. The first Test in England is in June, while the County Championship begins in April. He could join a county team, as Pujara did, and gain valuable match practice. India can then evaluate his performances in the initial Test matches,” Manjrekar said in the latest episode of Star Sports’ Deep Point podcast.
“If there are positive signs, he can continue. But the last thing you want is Kohli going there and struggling, as we’ve seen before. That wouldn’t be good for Indian cricket. Playing county cricket could be a very sensible move for him,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kohli’s participation in county cricket seems difficult as it will collide with the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.