Alec Stewart: "Playing and training alongside Virat will be a massive benefit for our players who will have the opportunity to learn so much from him."
Sunday 13 May 2018 22:20, UK
India captain Virat Kohli will play for Surrey in June, the club have announced.
Kohli will play in the Specsavers County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup, culminating in the Championship game with Yorkshire at Scarborough.
"It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season. I can't wait to get to the Kia Oval," said Kohli.
Alec Stewart, Surrey's Director of Cricket, 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."
Sky Sports Cricket pundit and former Surrey batsman Mark Butcher said of Kohli's signing: "There was only one club that was going to manage it!
"Virat's record in Tests is excellent everywhere but England and he wanted to do something about that. It was a case of getting the BCCI to approve it and finding a club that was going to accommodate him.
"He is going to play at Beckenham, Guildford and Scarborough, which is a huge shot in the arm for festival cricket."
Kohli won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC World Cricketer of the Year in 2017, and was also named Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World and captain of the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
The 29-year-old has guided his country to the top of the ICC Test rankings with 21 victories from 34 matches, while he averages more than 50 in all three formats of the international game.
Kohli will join up with India for their tour of England once his short stint with Surrey is over - the tour features three T20 internationals, three ODIs and a five-Test series.
That could see Kohli return to The Oval on September 7 for the final Test against Joe Root's side.
