Kohli to play for India A ahead of Sri Lanka Tests

Hours after announcing the Indian squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka in Aug-Sept, the BCCI confirmed news that Virat Kohli will be playing the second unofficial Test against Australia A, representing the India A team.

As per reports, Kohli requested the Board to be included in the team to get some match practice before a tough assignment against Sri Lanka. This will be Kohli’s first full time assignment as the captain, after the BCCI decided to rest key players for the Zimbabwe tour.

To cope up with the gap and get back to his cricketing groove, the star batsman wanted to get a feel of the game against the Australia A side. Kohli had led the Indian side in the one-off Test against Bangladesh recently.

Kohli has not played any Test in Sri Lanka yet, even after 34 Test matches under his belt. The last time India and Sri Lanka played a Test series in 2010, the series was drawn 1-1.

It will be interesting to see how Kohli plays in the second unofficial Test for the A side under the captaincy of fellow Indian-team counterpart Cheteshwar Pujara. The Indian team leaves for Sri Lanka on August 1st.