Will know by end of series whether rest from County stint helped Kohli: Stewart

LONDON: Virat Kohli's much-hyped maiden county stint for Surrey needed to be called off because of a neck damage publish IPL however how a lot has the remaining helped the Indian captain will handiest be found out after the end of the Test series, said former England captain and county's Director of Cricket Alec Stewart.

ALSO READ: Kuldeep won't have luxury of ODIs in Test matches, says Stewart

Interestingly, Stewart, who's the Director of Cricket for Surrey County had performed a pivotal position in getting Kohli to sign his maiden county contract, where he was once supposed to play three four-day games throughout the months of May and June.

ALSO READ: Pant has temperament to bat differently, says Dravid

However a neck damage in IPL and prescribed rest meant that Kohli did not play for Surrey as he sought after to remain fresh for the gruelling two and half month UK tour that had five Test matches.

ALSO READ: Keep R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav in Test XI, says Azharuddin

"Virat has played only a limited number of (Test) matches in England and his record is nowhere near the high quality he has achieved everywhere else around the world. So only he can answer (if rest helped him more) and we will know at the end of this series," Stewart advised PTI when requested if skipping county stint would help him throughout Tests or no longer.

ALSO READ: Tendulkar's advice to Team India: Respect the stipulations

Stewart believes that had Kohli been are compatible, his stint would have proved to be mutually recommended for both events.

"In my conversation with him (Kohli), we told him that we very much wanted him at Surrey for that month (May), and he told us he wanted to be here. It would have helped Surrey and it would have definitely helped Virat as well. But circumstances around that neck injury meant that he had pull out at the last moment," said Stewart.

While Kohli will handiest get one four-day game as a warm-up prior to the Test fit, Stewart feels that enjoying restricted overs matches will probably be of a few help although.

"(But) He has had the white-ball internationals to get ready for the Test series. When you have the quality of Virat, you adjust accordingly and I expect him to have a big impact on the Test series. His record here cannot get worse, it can only improve and world-class players find a way of succeeding in tough conditions."

In jest, Stewart said that he is lucky that he doesn't have to shop for a ticket to watch Virat bat.

"As much as people will be scrutinizing his record leading into this Test series, I expect him to succeed. I am lucky enough come watch cricket and not buy a ticket. But I would gladly pay to watch Virat bat," he added.

Stewart may be hopeful that India will carry out better this time as likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma have all performed county up to now two seasons, which is able to keep them in just right stead.

"The likes of Pujara, Ashwin and Ishant have played in England before but to play more recently in the county circuit, in preparation for the Test series, it can only get better for India. The more you get used to conditions and different playing environments, the better it is going to be as an international cricketer. So, it will definitely help India that important members of their Test side have played here," Stewart said.