Virat Kohli is no machine, you can't put rocket fuel up his backside and get him on the park: Ravi Shastri

Virat Kohli will miss his much-hyped county stint with Surrey after being ruled out due to a neck injury.

Understandably, Surrey Cricket Club and their fans were disappointed. The club released a statement saying that Kohli will not be representing them this season. 

“It’s hugely disappointing that Virat won’t be joining Surrey for the month of June but we understand injuries happen and we have to respect the decision of the BCCI medical team to pull him from his stint with us,” Alec Stewart, Surrey Director of Cricket, said.

Meanwhile, Team India coach Ravi Shastri once again emphasised the need to reduce players' workload. According to Mumbai Mirror, Shastri told reporters that Kohli was a human not a machine. 

“(He had to skip the county stint) because he is not a top dog. He is not a machine but a human being,” the Indian cricket team coach was quoted as saying.

It is not a case of putting rocket fuel up his backside and getting him on the park. Even a top dog can’t be given rocket fuel up his backside,” Shastri added according to the report.

Kohli was scheduled to represent Surrey in six games in June, as a way for him to prepare for the upcoming tour to England.

Kohli will now begin training and subsequently undergo a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore from June 15. “The BCCI Medical Team is confident that Mr Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India’s upcoming tours to Ireland and England,” the BCCI statement noted.