Manjrekar urges Virat Kohli to play County Championship in UK ahead of England series

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 17 (ANI): Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar had a word of advice for star batter Virat Kohli, struggling with his form, saying that he should play the County Championship in the UK ahead of the Test tour of England this year and just needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket to find his groove back.
Manjrekar was speaking on the Star Sports' Deep Point podcast series.
Manjrekar suggested that Kohli should consider playing a season of County cricket in England to enhance his Test game in English conditions, similar to what Cheteshwar Pujara has done.
India's Test tour of England to kickstart the WTC 2025-27 cycle will start from June 20 onwards. In order to secure the series and give fine competition to a 'Bazball' powered England at their home, India will need Virat in top form.
"Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket," Manjrekar said.
"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 gain valuable match practice. India can then evaluate his performance in the initial Test matches. If there are positive signs, he can continue. But the last thing you want is Kohli going there and struggling, as we have seen before. That would not be good for Indian cricket. Playing County cricket could be a very sensible move for him," he added.
Also, Sanjay Bangar, who has spent a lot of time with Virat as a coach in India and RCB set-ups, is optimistic about Virat's future, backing him to play few more years due to his fine fitness.
"I am still backing him. Even at 36 (years old), he is as fit as ever. His fitness levels are remarkable, and I believe he can continue playing at the highest level," said Bangar.
Playing in domestic or country cricket could help Virat overcome his form slump and declining stats across all formats last year, especially in Tests.
In 10 Tests last year, he scored just 417 runs at an average of 24.52 with just one century and fifty, to conclude a disappointing year. Across all international cricket last year, Kohli made just 655 runs at an average of 21.83, with just a century and two half-centuries in 32 innings.
Virat ended the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with 751 runs in 14 matches and 25 innings at an average of 32.65, with two centuries and three fifties. His best score was 121.

In 39 Test matches since the start of 2020, Virat has scored just 2,028 runs at an average of 30.72, with just three centuries and nine fifties to show for. His best score is 186. (ANI)