Surrey are one of the clubs who still believe that their players should earn rather than expect a county cap but it is unlikely that Virat Kohli will be made to wait for his when he arrives at the Oval next month.
Kohli will be county cricket’s biggest box office attraction since Shane Warne last played for Hampshire 11 years ago. Apart from putting bums on seats, Kohli will use his six-match stint to acclimatise before India’s Test series in England later in the summer.
Surrey’s players will also have the opportunity to learn from the best, particularly the fitness regime that Kohli has developed to drive him to the top.
“Around 30 minutes before the bus leaves for a match he does what he calls a ‘priming session’ in the gym,” England all-rounder Chris Woakes, a team-mate of Kohli’s at Royal Challengers Bangalore, told The Guardian.
“It’s like a short burst of Olympic weightlifting. It’s certainly different but it works for him. Overall his fitness work is having a serious impact on the next generation of Indian players. He’s leaner, fitter and more agile than those before.” (ESPNCricinfo)
