Virat Kohli might be enjoying the entertainment thrill that IPL provides but the Indian skipper doesn’t fancy playing in a new format, ruling him out of ECB’s 100-ball competition that launches in 2020.

 

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been expressing disappointment, be it directly or indirectly, over the amount of cricket he has been playing over the past couple of years. The latest injury he sustained in the ongoing Test series against England was also labelled by the 29-year-old as a result of the workload he has had. With England Cricket Board also planning a new 100-ball tournament, Kohli admitted he isn’t in favour of playing in another format when it launches in 2020.

In an interview with Wisden Cricket Monthly, Kohli said: “Obviously for the people involved in the whole process and the set-up it will be really exciting but I cannot think of one more format, to be honest.”

The beauty of cricket lies in the Test format and the same has been advocated by many former cricketers and pundits. While competitions like IPL and other franchise-based T20 formats provide fans with entertainment, Kohli believes that the commercial aspects seem to be taking over the true beauty of the sport.

“I’m already very… I wouldn’t say frustrated, but sometimes it can get very demanding of you when you have to play so much cricket regularly. I feel somewhere the commercial aspect is taking over the real quality of cricket and that hurts me.

“Honestly, I don’t want to be a testing sort of a cricketer for any new format. I don’t want to be someone who’s going to be part of that World XI who comes and launches the 100-ball format,”

 

 

Speaking about the franchise cricket leagues like the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League, Kohli admitted that he enjoys both (as a cricketer and a viewer) and while new leagues are good, it’s the introduction of a new format that he doesn’t fancy.

“I love playing the IPL, I love watching the BBL, because you’re working towards something, competing against high-quality sides and it gets your competitive juices flowing. That’s what you want as a cricketer. I’m all for the leagues, but not to experiment.”

Speaking about the County Championship, a tournament he came close to playing in ahead of the England tour before a neck injury ruled out his participation, Kohli said that he still remains keen to playing County cricket in England.

“County cricket always intrigued me,” he said. “Unfortunately it couldn’t happen this time but I would love to come again in future.”

“I’ve heard so much from so many players over so many years that it has really helped them understand their games even better. Also just to understand how professional the set-up over here is, how the longest format of the game is looked at with so much respect,’’ he added.

Kohli is presently preparing to take on England in the fourth Test of the 5-match series in Southampton. A defeat in the match would give England a 3-1 series win with a game to spare while a win for the visitors would put the teams level 2-2.

 

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