LONDON: India captain Virat Kohli has ruled out participating in the initial stages of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new 100-ball format and says he is worried that commercial concerns are eroding the quality of the game.
The ECB’s new eight-team tournament is set to begin in 2020 and sees each side facing 15 six-ball overs, culminating in a final 10 deliveries.
Kohli already represents India in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, whereas in a club competition, he regularly participates in the Indian Premier League where he captains Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), said he did not want to be “a testing sort of cricketer for any new format.”
“Obviously for the people involved in the whole process and the set-up, it will be really exciting but I cannot think of one more format, to be honest,” said Kohli in an interview with Wisden Cricket Monthly. “I am very … I wouldn’t say frustrated but it can get very demanding of you when you have to play so much cricket. I feel the commercial aspect is taking over the real quality of the cricket and that hurts me.”
