Virat Kohli could play at Lord's this summer but not with Indian Team
Last week, Kohli shocked the cricket world with his Test retirement announcement, breaking the internet. Taking to his social media handles, Virat informed everyone of his decision.
Virat Kohli might have announced his Test retirement, but he could still play at the Lord’s this summer. Per the latest report, English County club Middlesex has shown interest in signing Virat for the upcoming summer; considering Virat hung up his Test boots and said nothing about not continuing to play First-Class cricket, Alan Coleman, director of cricket at Middlesex, confirmed open to conversing with India great over a potential deal.
“Virat Kohli is the most iconic player of his generation, so, of course, we are interested in having that conversation,” Alan Coleman said as quoted in The Guardian.
Kohli could play in either the County Championship or the One-Day Cup.
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Meanwhile, it’s not for the first time that Middlesex County has lured in several former and current greats to sign for their club for a season or so because of the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground (London), their home venue. Ex-South Africa batting great AB de Villiers starred for Middlesex in the T20 Blast in 2019, and former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is the last marquee player to feature for the second half this season for London Spirit in The Hundred competition.
The Guardian report also states that MCC and Middlesex have come together to rope Virat Kohli in for the upcoming English summer, having worked on splitting the deal’s cost.
“Officials there (MCC) have indicated they would be happy to similarly split the cost of any deal for Kohli,” the statement read.
Should Kohli crack a deal with Middlesex for a stint in any of the two competitions, it would be his maiden County appearance, having come close to finalising one ahead of India’s last Test tour of England a few years ago.
Kohli says goodbye to Tests
After a horror show Down Under, perhaps his poorest one against Australia in their country, where Virat scored just 190 runs across five Tests, also included a Test hundred, the India batting giant decided against continuing in the red-ball format.
Last week, Kohli shocked the cricket world with his Test retirement announcement, breaking the internet. Taking to his social media handles, Virat informed everyone of his decision.
With Virat and former India captain Rohit Sharma saying goodbye to the Test format, the selectors have plenty on hand than just announcing the squad for the away five-match Test series starting June 20 in Leeds.
Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee will now pick India’s new Test captain and the team he will lead in England.
The decision is expected around the end of this month.