NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli, who was named as India skipper for the Ireland T20Is, will skip the opening match due to his county stint with Surrey.
The BCCI had named Kohli as the captain for the two T20Is against Ireland on Tuesday despite the first match clashing with his county club’s clash with Yorkshire. This had led to confusion over whether the 29-year-old will honour his county deal and play for his country instead.
Surrey had recently confirmed that Kohli will represent them in three championship matches in June.
Rohit Sharma will lead the side in Kohli’s absence who will return to take the captaincy duties in the second game. “If we had named a separate captain for the first T20I, and Kohli for the second match, it would have led to more confusion. Obviously, Rohit Sharma would lead in the first game and Kohli will be back for the next,” Mumbai Mirror quoted a source as saying.
After representing Surrey against Yorkshire at Scarborough (June 25 to 28), Kohli will reportedly join the Indian squad after a five-hour journey to Dublin for the 2nd T20I.
It has also been reported that the BCCI might request England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to push back the dates of the one-off Test between India A and England Lions at Worcester. As of now, the India A vs Lions four-day game starts July 16 and on July 17, India senior team play their final ODI game against England at Headingley. ECB could be requested to start the Lions game from July 19, which will allow Kohli and maybe KL Rahul a chance to get into the Test match mode.
