Surrey announces Virat Kohli's replacement
Neck injury to Kohli had earlier ruled him out of his County stint.
The Indian skipper Virat Kohli was all set to feature for Surrey in his maiden County stint in the month of June before an injury ruled him out of the same. Soon after the end of the season for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Kohli has injured his neck and won’t be travelling to England to play in the County Championship. However, the club has now moved on and named the replacement for the Indian captain.
Kohli, in a bid to prepare for the upcoming England tour, was ready to skip the historic Test match against Afghanistan as well. He had signed a contract to play 3 One-Day matches and the same number of four-day encounters for Surrey in June. As it stands now, he has cleared the yo-yo fitness test ahead of the tour and will be available for the Men in Blue for the two-match T20I series against Ireland as well which is commencing on June 27.
Who is Kohli’s replacement?
According to the official website of Surrey, Theunis de Bruyn, the South African cricketer, will replace Virat Kohli in the squad. “It has always been one of my ambitions to play county cricket,” he said after signing the contract with the County club. De Bruyn will ply his trade against Somerset and Yorkshire for the County club and will be itching to prove his mettle.
The Director of Cricket for Surrey, Alec Stewart, believed that De Bruyn will play a vital role in a couple of county matches in the absence of key players due to the national commitments. “With Jason Roy and Tom Curran involved in the current one-day series against Australia and Ben Foakes and Sam Curran representing England Lions, Theunis will provide vital reinforcement for our next two County Championship matches,” he added.
The 25-year-old right-hander is yet to impress the selectors in his short 5-match Test career having scored only 130 runs at a meagre average of 14.44. He has been named in the squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour though and would be looking to make amends as the Proteas face the spin challenge.
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