BCCI wants Virat Kohli to play Afghanistan Test

Afghanistan team is all set for their maiden Test appearance on June 14 against India in Bangalore but according to reports India’s regular skipper Virat Kohli has opted to miss the one-off Test and rather prepare for England tour with a county stint most likely with Surrey.

New Delhi: Afghanistan team is all set for their maiden Test appearance on June 14 against India in Bangalore but according to reports Indian skipper Virat Kohli has opted to miss the one-off Test and rather prepare for England tour with a county stint most likely with Surrey.

The unconfirmed decision was taken by Virat after Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) advised India Test specialists to go England a bit earlier to get a hang of the English conditions before the team’s lengthy tour involving three ODI’s, three T20I’s and 5 Tests begins from July 3.

But BCCI feels that Kohli’s decision to give Afghanistan Test a miss will tantamount to disrespecting their opponent and also set a bad precedent.

“If a decision has been taken to allow the India captain to miss an international game and play County cricket at that point of time, it would set a very bad precedent. It would give a very bad message to the visiting Afghanistan team; that maybe the opponents aren’t worthy for us. It would be disrespectful to the Afghanistan team and also, it would be unfair on the broadcaster,” a cricket board official told The Indian Express, adding: “(Even if) he is playing in England at that time, he can come back for one Test and then fly back. And if he is so keen to play County cricket, has he sought permission to miss his IPL games?”

Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiq Stanikzai on Wednesday also said they would "miss" playing against Virat Kohli.

“Virat is a world cricket icon, something our players will miss the exposure playing against. Nevertheless, it will be a good opportunity and we will cherish every single moment of that match,” Stanikzai told PTI on the sidelines of the five-day ICC quarterly meeting.

Virat himself till now has neither confirmed nor denied his absence from the Afghanistan Test but Afghan fans, players along with Indian fans will be eager to see Virat participate in their debut Test on June 14.