Conflicting Reports Emerge About Virat Kohli's Availability For T20Is vs Ireland

Virat Kohli will be preparing for India's all-important tour of England with a stint with county side Surrey in the month of June. According to Surrey's official website, the India skipper will "be available for all cricket throughout the month until the close of Surrey's trip to Scarborough to face Yorkshire". However, India's two Twenty20 Internationals against Ireland might throw a spanner in the works for Surrey. India take on Ireland in the first match on June 27 and the second on June 29 in Dublin for which BCCI have appointed Kohli as the captain but Surrey play a four-day game against Yorkshire from June 25-28 in Scarborough.

Information provided on the Surrey website makes it quite clear that Kohli is expected to play for the county for entirety of June but some sections of the Indian media say otherwise.

"Surrey County Cricket Club are delighted to announce the signing of India captain Virat Kohli for the month of June. Kohli will be available for all cricket throughout the month until the close of Surrey's trip to Scarborough to face Yorkshire," read an article on the Surrey website.

However, according to a report in ESPN.in, Kohli is likely to pick the two T20Is against Ireland over his third county match for Surrey.

"The BCCI said there was no commitment from Kohli to play all three games for Surrey. It is understood that BCCI officials are in talks with concerned authorities in England to resolve the issue amicably. It might not be that difficult to convince Surrey because they are already believed to be under fire from former England players for providing Kohli match-practice ahead of India's tour of England in July," read the ESPN.in report.

The 29-year-old will become the fourth Test eligible Indian player in county cricket this year with fellow batsman Cheteshwar Pujara currently at Yorkshire and fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron plying their trade at Sussex and Leicestershire, respectively.

The India skipper will be the sixth Indian player to represent Surrey in the English county. Zaheer Khan was the first Indian player to make an appearance for Surrey in 2004. Harbhajan Singh (2005 and 2007), Anil Kumble (2006), Pragyan Ojha (2011) and Murali Karthik (2012) are the other Indian cricketers to have played for Surrey.