Could Virat Kohli, who retired from Test cricket recently, play in whites for an English county team? Middlesex certainly hope so, according to a report in The Guardian. The report points out how while Kohli announced his retirement from Tests, he didn’t mention anything about retiring from first-class cricket. Alan Coleman, director of cricket at Middlesex, is quoted as saying: “Virat Kohli is the most iconic player of his generation, so of course we are interested in having that conversation.” It notes that Kohli could play either “county championship or one-day cup”.
Middlesex have used the lure of Lord’s cricket ground, their home arena, to attract big-name players in the past. South Africa’s AB de Villiers turned up for the T20 Blast in 2019, and they have signed up New Zealand’s Kane Williamson for the second half of this season to play for the team London Spirit.
The Guardian reports that both those deals came with collaboration with MCC and has a line about how they handle the payments. “Officials there (MCC) have indicated they would be happy to similarly split the cost of any deal for Kohli”. Their hope seems to be that Kohli will love to play at Lord’s again, popularly called as the ‘home of cricket’ and will take the plunge.
If Kohli does indeed play red-ball cricket in England, there is a possibility he might play against Lancashire’s Jimmy Anderson at the end of the season.
