Virat Kohli is facing criticism due to his poor performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The pressure on him to retire is also increasing. Meanwhile, it has emerged that Kohli may play county cricket to prepare for the Test series against England in June 2025.
Virat Kohli can play county cricket only if Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) does not reach the IPL 2025 playoffs. Earlier, Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir had also emphasized on the importance of domestic cricket.
IPL final will be played on 25th May
According to media reports, Virat Kohli will play county cricket, but only if RCB is not able to reach the playoffs. The final of IPL 2025 will be played on 25th May and the first Test match between India and England will start from 20th June in Leeds. If Bangalore reaches the final, Kohli will have only 14 days to adapt to the conditions in England and play county cricket. This may prove inadequate for good preparation.
Pat Cummins did this
In the past, some international cricketers have left franchise cricket to improve their game at the international level. Pat Cummins did this in 2023, when he took a break from IPL 2023 to prepare for the World Test Championship final against India. His break also proved to be good as under his captaincy, Australia defeated Team India by 209 runs and won the World Test Championship.
RCB retained Virat for 21 crores
RCB retained Virat Kohli for Rs 21 crore for IPL 2025. This makes him the fifth most expensive player of IPL 2025. Kohli will lead Bangalore’s batting lineup, so his absence is likely to weaken the RCB team. In such a situation, there is very little hope that Virat Kohli will miss the entire or half of the IPL 2025 season.
