Virat Kohli has revealed that India has been denied first-class fixtures before the forthcoming 5-match England Test series. India hadn’t played a red-ball game for nearly three months before the World Test Championship final.
Following the defeat in the World Test Championship final to New Zealand, Virat Kohli has revealed that Team India had demanded first-class matches before the upcoming five-match Test series against England but their demand hasn’t been met.
Virat Kohli Wanted First Class Games Which Haven’t Beem Given For Reasons Not Known To The Captain
India was short on match practice before the WTC final and they hadn’t played a red-ball game since the home series against England in March 2021. They played an intrasquad game before the WTC Final too and lost the final by 8 wickets and will again stay away from competitive cricket for over one month as the India-England Test series kicks off on August 4.
Responding to the query whether India will play county matches before the Test series against England, Virat Kohli revealed that they asked for first-class matches but it won’t be happening.
“That doesn’t depend on us. We wanted first-class games but that’s not been given, I don’t know the reason. We have ample time for the first Test, we should be ready for it,” he said.
While India won’t play the first-class fixture before the Test series, they are scheduled to play an intra-squad fixture from July 28 to 31.
The series is still more than a month away and India has ample time to prepare for that. India hasn’t defeated England at their home since 2007 when the team featured the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. The last time India toured England (in 2018), the Virat Kohli-led side suffered a 1-4 defeat against Joe Root’s team.
Virat Kohli Who Lost To New Zealand In The WTC Final Will Play 5 Tests Against England Starting On August 4
The India-England five-match Test series will kick off on August 4, with the first Test taking place in Nottingham. Lord’s will host the 2nd Test from August 12 to 16. The third Test will be played in Leeds from August 25 to 29. London will host the 4th Test from September 2 to 6. The fifth and the final Test match will be played in Manchester, from September 10. Following the five-match Test series, the Indian players will land in UAE for the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s wait to lead India to an ICC title victory extended as New Zealand chased down the target of 139 to clinch the World Test Championship title. The Indian batsmen struggled against the pace duo of Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, who jointly scalped 12 wickets.
Kane Williamson (52*) and Ross Taylor (47*) added a match-winning 96-run partnership on the Reserve Day to propel NZ to their 2nd ICC title victory after Champions Trophy 2000. NZ had played 2 Tests against England before the WTC final.
The architects of New Zealand’s victory were Kane Williamson(49 and 52*), Kyle Jamieson (5/31 in the 1st innings), and Tim Southee (4/48 in the 2nd innings). New Zealand was so disciplined with the ball throughout the match that they didn’t let an Indian batsman score a fifty in the entire Test.