NEW DELHI: England paceman Chris Woakes said Friday that Virat Kohli’s decision to play for Surrey will raise the standard of English county cricket, as the Indian skipper faces criticism for missing a landmark Test.
Kohli will skip Afghanistan’s first-ever Test, in Bangalore against India, to play county cricket in preparation for a high-profile England tour starting July — a decision India’s cricket board has defended.
Woakes, his teammate at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, also welcomed the star batsman’s decision to play in the English championship.
“It’s great he is going to be playing in England for Surrey. That will only make the competition stronger,” Woakes said ahead of Bangalore’s weekend Indian Premier League game against the Delhi Daredevils.
“Getting guys to play against world-class players like Virat is only good for the county game,” said Woakes, who plays for Warwickshire in England.
The 29-year-old bowler has been able to observe Kohli’s tactical style closely during the IPL, India’s cash-rich Twenty20 league.
“Having to share a dressing room with him has been a great experience,” said Woakes, who is playing in his second IPL season.
“He is passionate about playing cricket for RCB and India as well. Obviously we expect some good challenges ahead against him this summer back in England.”
India will play five Tests, three one-day internationals and three T20s against England.
Bangalore are seventh in the eight-team IPL table, with no standout performances from any of its players this season.
Woakes — signed on a $1.09-million deal — has picked up just eight wickets in five games.
Despite the low haul, the Englishman said playing in the tournament has helped boost his T20 game.
“I think the fact that we have 12 English players (in the IPL) is a great thing for English cricket,” he said.
“It’s great for us as individuals to have come out here and experience the IPL.”
‘World class’ Virat Kohli will boost English county cricket, says Chris Woakes
‘World class’ Virat Kohli will boost English county cricket, says Chris Woakes
- Kohli to play for Surrey ahead of India's tour of England
- 'It will only make the competition stronger,' says RCB teammate Woakes
Real Madrid handed shock home loss as Celta Vigo spring surprise
- Celta jumped from 14th to 10th while the defeat ended Real’s 100 percent home league record this season after six successive wins
MADRID: Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-0 loss and finished with nine men against Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Sunday after Williot Swedberg scored an audacious goal with his heel and a second in stoppage time to leave the hosts four points off leaders Barcelona.
Swedish substitute Swedberg cleverly diverted a cross from Bryan Zaragoza past Thibaut Courtois in the 53rd minute to put Celta ahead and had an easy finish three minutes into added time, going around the goalkeeper to wrap up the points.
Real’s cause was not helped by the 64th minute dismissal of Fran Garcia, who picked up two yellow cards in 60 seconds, but they laid siege to the visitors’ goal for the last 20 minutes as Celta went into a defensive shell to hold onto their advantage.
Real defender Alvaro Carreras was also dismissed for two cautions, his second coming in stoppage time at the end of the game as the home side’s frustrations boiled over.
It was a second clean sheet in 15 league games this season for Celta, whose keeper Ionut Radu made a first-half save from Jude Bellingham’s header and stopped a second-half free-kick whipped in by Kylian Mbappe.
Real stay on 36 points from 16 games as Celta celebrated a first win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in 19 years, leaving the Galician club with 19 points.
“With the team they have and their quality, it’s difficult to match them, but we read the game well,” said Celta striker Borja Iglesias. “We had possession, we played in their half, we played a fantastic match.”
Celta jumped from 14th to 10th while the defeat ended Real’s 100 percent home league record this season after six successive wins.
Xabi Alonso’s stuttering Real team have now won only one of their last five league games as they await the midweek arrival of Manchester City in the Champions League.
Earlier on Sunday, Espanyol moved up to fifth as Roberto Fernandez’s first half penalty handed them a 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano as both sides finished with 10 men.
Elche’s Rafa Mir scored twice as they ran out 3-0 home winners over struggling Girona, while hosts Valencia and Sevilla remained in the bottom half of the table after a 1-1 draw.
