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India captain Virat Kohli signs Surrey deal

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India captain Virat Kohli thanks England legend after signing Surrey deal — Virat Kohli, the India captain, will play for Surrey this summer (Picture: Getty)

India captain Virat Kohli has signed a county deal to play for Surrey.

The 29-year-old, who has scored over 17,000 international runs and 56 centuries, will be available for all cricket throughout the month of June.

Kohli becomes the fourth India Test star in county cricket this summer, with Cheteshwar Pujara at Yorkshire and Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron playing for Sussex and Leicestershire respectively.

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After putting pen to paper on a contract with Surrey, Kohli said: It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket.

I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season. I cant wait to get to the Kia Oval.

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Kohli averages more than 50 in all three formats of international cricket and won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in 2017.

Since taking over the captaincy during Indias tour of Australia in 2014-15, Kohli has taken his team to the top of the ICC rankings.

Surrey Director of Cricket and England legend Alec Stewart said: 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.

Kohlis decision to play county cricket stems from a desire to improve in English conditions ahead of Indias tour later in the summer.

The last time India faced England away from home, he scored just 134 runs in ten innings at an average of less than 14.