Bengaluru, May 24: Virat Kohli has left no stone unturned in his preparation for India's upcoming tour of England. And the most important among them was him signing with English county Surrey to play for them in the month of June.
But it has emerged now that the county stint of Kohli will not take off at all. A BCCI release said Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, had suffered a neck injury while fielding against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on May 17.
"Kohli suffered a neck injury while fielding during the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad May 17 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Kohli, who was scheduled to play for Surrey CCC in the month of June, has been ruled out from participating," said the BCCI. This decision was taken following assessments by the BCCI Medical team, subsequent scans, and a specialist visit.
CONFIRMED: @imVkohli will not play for Surrey after suffering a neck injury playing for RCB.
— ICC (@ICC) May 24, 2018
He will undertake a fitness Test on 15th June, and is expected to be fit for India's tours of Ireland and England. pic.twitter.com/923ubTK7se
"Kohli will now undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI medical team. 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," said the BCCI.
Earlier, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Kohli is suffering from a slipped disc (herniated disc) and it was diagnosed while a visit to a hospital in Khar, Mumbai.
The Indian captain visited the hospital and met an orthopedic specialist on Wednesday (May 23) and the specialist and his team told Kohli that there was some damage to his spinal nerves. However, the doctors decided against surgery at this point of time.
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Missing the county stint will be a massive disappointment for Kohli, who had ensured all possible steps to make his trip to England a success. In the 2014 tour of England, Kohli had struggled massively against James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
On that trip, all Kohli could manage was 134 runs from five Tests at a measly average of 13.4 and he was dismissed four times by pacer Anderson in that series.
I have accepted the #FitnessChallenge by @ra_THORe sir. Now I would like to challenge my wife @AnushkaSharma , our PM @narendramodi ji and @msdhoni Bhai for the same. 😀 #HumFitTohIndiaFit #ComeOutAndPlay pic.twitter.com/e9BAToE6bg
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 23, 2018
Kohli's workload has been a cause of concern for the BCCI and India coach Ravi Shastri while others on the monitor list are pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Over the next 18 months starting with the tour of England and the World Cup, Indian team will have only 14 days of proper rest.
Both Shastri and Kohli have been vocal in the recent past about the need to manage the schedule and workload of players better in view of the tight schedule ahead.