The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put all the speculations to rest and confirmed that Virat Kohli will not play for county side Surrey in the month of June.
Earlier in the day there were reports of the India captain having a slip disc and was advised by the BCCI to monitor his workload ahead of the England tour. But a release by the cricket board on Thursday afternoon confirmed that Kohli has sustained a neck injury while fielding during Match 51 of IPL 2018.
"Kohli, who was scheduled to play for Surrey CCC in the month of June, has been ruled out from participating. This decision was taken following assessments by the BCCI Medical team, subsequent scans, and a specialist visit.
"The Team India captain will now undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI Medical team," the BCCI release stated.
After the T20I series in Ireland, India starts the tour of England with the limited-overs formats before the Test series begins in August 1. However, the BCCI is confident of the 29-year-old regaining full fitness before the tours of Ireland and England.
"He will begin training and subsequently undergo a fitness test at the NCA in Bengaluru from June 15. The BCCI Medical Team is confident that Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India’s upcoming tours to Ireland and England."
'Hugely disappointing'
Alec Stewart, director of cricket at Surrey, said, "It’s hugely disappointing that Virat won’t be joining Surrey for the month of June but we understand injuries happen and we have to respect the decision of the BCCI medical team to pull him from his stint with us."
Interestingly, Kohli led the Royal Challengers in a must-win match against Rajasthan Royals two days after suffering the injury. Kohli is understood to have consulted Dr. Abhay Nene, an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in spinal cord-related ailments, at a suburban hospital on Wednesday. It is also understood that Kohli has been managing the neck injury, which forced him to skip an ODI in South Africa, since India's tour to South Africa earlier this year.
Kohli had preferred to skip India's Test against Afghanistan next month in order to prepare for a gruelling five-Test series in England with a county stint with Surrey for the whole month of June. Despite India set to start the tour with a month of white-ball cricket, Kohli was keen to prepare with red ball in England conditions in the wake of a disastrous last tour. In 2014, Kohli had struggled to cope with the moving ball, ending the five Tests with a meagre return of 134 runs at 13.40.
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