Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar felt that Virat Kohli should follow peers like Cheteshwar Pujara in playing county cricket to prepare for the Test series against England in June.

Kohli is currently going through a rut in Test cricket, having scored just three hundreds since 2020. The former India captain scored 190 runs in nine innings in the recent Border Gavaskar Trophy which Australia won 3-1 after losing the first Test in Perth .

Kohli scored a hundred in the second innings of the Pert Test, but his form took a nosedive after that. His dismissals while chasing deliveries outside off stump were in the spotlight as the star batsman couldn’t seem to find solutions.

Soon after the series debacle, the BCCI ordered all players to play domestic cricket to qualify for national team selection and central contracts.

Follow Pujara’s example

Manjrekar suggested that it would be helpful for Kohli to play as much red-ball cricket as possible to find his scoring touch.

“Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket. The first test in England is in June, while the county championship begins in April. He could join a county team, like Pujara did, and get valuable match practice,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports’ Deep Point podcast.

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Pujara began his county season when he signed for Gloucestershire in 2020 and then played two seasons for Sussex 1,863 runs in 18 innings which included eight hundreds.

The great Saurashtra batsman scored 870 runs in 32 innings when he played in England, which included one hundred and five half-centuries.

Is it possible for Kohli to play county cricket?

Manjrekar felt that Kohli can play some county matches where India may consider including him in the squad for the England Tests.

“India will then be able to evaluate its performance in the initial Test matches. If there are positive signs, it can continue,” Manjrekar added.

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The 2025 County Championship, which begins on April 7, will run parallel to the Indian Premier League and will only be interrupted after Round 8, which ends on May 26. Kohli must skip the IPL altogether, which is highly unlikely, or RCB must be out of the playoff race for him to travel to the UK.

Currently, reports suggest that Kohli will not be available for Delhi’s Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra starting January 23 due to a sprained neck for which he received an injection.

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