Virat Kohli has signed for Surrey and will join the county side in June after the conclusion of the IPL. 

The India captain will be available for all cricket throughout the month of June and joins three other Test-eligible Indian players in county cricket this year – batsman Cheteshwar Pujara currently at Yorkshire and seamers Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron who play for Sussex and Leicestershire respectively.

Since his debut in 2011, the 29-year-old has scored 5,554 Test runs at an average of 53.40 and 9,588 ODI runs at an average of 58.10.

He took over the captaincy in 2014-15 against Australia and has led his country to the top of the ICC rankings with 21 Test wins from 34 matches.

Joining Surrey will prepare Kohli for their tour of England which kicks off with three T20s from 3-8 July, three ODIs from 12-17 July and five Tests from 1 August to 7 September.

‘It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season. I can’t wait to get to the Kia Oval,’ said Kohli after signing for Surrey.

Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, added: ‘We are thrilled to have signed the biggest name in world cricket for the month of June.

‘Playing and training alongside Virat will be a massive benefit for our players, who will have the opportunity to learn so much from him.

‘At a time when there is much discussion around the future of county cricket, the arrival of Virat should give our domestic game a massive boost and positive exposure around the cricketing world which in turn can benefit every county.’

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