Former India batter and renowned expert Sanjay Manjrekar believes Virat Kohli should take a leaf out of Cheteshwar Pujara’s book and play County Cricket ahead of the five-Test series in England in order to rediscover his touch in red-ball cricket.

At 36, Kohli is still a mainstay in India’s Test XI, but his form has been waning, with the right-hander averaging just 23.15 since the start of 2024. He played all five Tests in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy and had a torrid time despite scoring a century in the first Test in Perth, finishing the series with an average of 23.75 while getting dismissed in identical fashion eight times out of eight.

Manjrekar reckons it’s time for Kohli to consider playing County Cricket ahead of the England Tests.

“Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket. The first Test in England is in June, while the County Championship begins in April. He could join a county team, like Pujara did, and gain valuable match practice,” Manjrekar said, reported News18.

The former India cricketer further asserted that it ‘wouldn’t be good’ for Indian cricket if Kohli struggles in England like he did in Australia, where he was a non-factor batting at No.4.

“India can then evaluate his performances in the initial Test matches. If there are positive signs, he can continue,” Manjrekar said.

“But the last thing you want is Kohli going there and struggling, as we’ve seen before. That wouldn’t be good for Indian cricket. Playing County cricket could be a very sensible move for him,” he added.

Will Kohli’s schedule allow him to play County Cricket?

Realistically speaking, Kohli will only be able to play the County Championship ahead of the England Tests if he skips the Indian Premier League (IPL).

There will be eight rounds of County Cricket played till May 26, after which there will be a month-long break.

But here’s where it gets complicated: by the time the action resumes, the England and India series (beginning June 20) will already have started.

Practically, Kohli can play one round of The County Championship (round 8, starting May 23) if Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) get knocked out in the group stages. But even that’s a stretch.