No slip disc injury but Virat Kohli's County stint to be curtailed: Officials

Virat Kohli's much-hyped county stint to just a couple of first-class matches for Surrey after a hospital visit by him raised injury concerns.

India skipper Virat Kohli | AP

NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli will not turn out for Surrey in the ongoing county season. After a report in a Mumbai daily claimed that the India captain has been diagnosed with a herniated disc, the BCCI on Thursday afternoon issued a statement contradicting it, but confirmed Kohli has a neck injury and would miss his much-anticipated stint with Surrey ahead of India’s tour of England.

Kohli will undergo rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI’s medical team and would report to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on June 15 for a fitness test.

Although there was speculation over the nature of the injury, a BCCI statement made clear it was not serious enough to keep Kohli out of the England series.

“Team India captain Kohli suffered a neck injury while fielding during the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and SunRisers Hyderabad on May 17. 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.”

Though the extent of the injury was not fully revealed, the BCCI did mention in its statement that Kohli will not train for the next three weeks and resume only after a test at the NCA.

Express understands that the severity of his injury is not a matter of big concern. He has been told to skip the county assignment on a precautionary note.

It is understood that the workload management system put in place by the Indian team management recently raised concerns over Kohli’s fitness, considering the team’s future assignments. He may have been able to play for Surrey, but that would have complicated things ahead of the England series. Keeping in mind the interests of the team, it was decided that Kohli should not risk it.

During the grueling tour of South Africa earlier this year, Kohli had missed a T20 because of a neck injury and the latest one seems to be an aggravation of that. Kohli was also rested for the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka, but returned for the IPL, where his team Royal Challengers Bangalore bowed out in the league stages.

Easily the fittest in the Indian squad, Kohli had raised concerns over the cramped calendar in the past and said it posed a serious threat to fitness.

“The injury isn’t severe, but it has reached a point where he needs full rest. If he heads to Surrey, he won’t get enough rest days and who knows, by the time the tour begins, he might be jaded. He can instead take good rest and start training in Bengaluru with the team and depart for England as scheduled,” sources in the know told Express.

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