Virat Kohli is proving he didn't need a County Championship deal, says Sunil Gavaskar

Sudhir Gupta 11:52 04/08/2018
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  • In impressive form: Virat Kohli

    Sunil Gavaskar believes India captain Virat Kohli has already proved that he didn’t need a county stint to flourish in England after sparkling with the bat in the on-going Test match at Edgbaston.

    The 29-year-old batsman scored his first Test century on English soil on Thursday when he hit 149 in a masterclass innings as India reached 274 in their reply to 287.

    Kohli is unbeaten on 43 in the second innings going into the fourth day on Saturday with the tourists needing 84 runs for victory and having five wickets in hand.

    Earlier this summer, Kohli had signed up for a pre-tour stint with Surrey only for a neck injury to rule him out. But former India skipper Gavaskar feels it’s the other Indian batsmen who must consider playing county cricket after their poor showings in Birmingham so far.

    “Kohli made a mockery of the thinking that he needed to play county cricket to get a big score in England,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Times of India.

    “Kohli is an exceptional talent and can get runs even if he wakes up in the middle of the night.

    Sunil Gavaskar (right) has been impressed with Virat Kohli's form in England so far

    Sunil Gavaskar (right) has been impressed with Virat Kohli’s form in England so far

    “More than him, it is the other guys who have lesser talent who needed to spend more time playing against the red ball, as was seen by the way they struggled against the moving ball.

    “Even if India go on to win the Test and the series, the decision to play just one three-day game in the fortnight’s gap has clearly not helped the other batsmen. More than Kohli, it’s the others who need more time against the red ball. Kohli can’t rescue the team every time.”

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