Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Virat Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket and he can do well with a stint in the County Championship in England, which will begin two months ahead of the five-Test England series. He requested Kohli to play in the premier English tournament to regain form ahead of the next World Test Championship cycle.

India and England will lock horns in four Tests in June-July. Kohli will be desperate for a turnaround in his fortunes after recent dismal outings against New Zealand and Australia.

Speaking on Star Sports' Deep Point podcast, Manjrekar stressed that Kohli should gain some much-needed practice in red-ball cricket in English conditions before the Test series begins.

"Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket. The first Test in England is in June, while the County Championship begins in April. He could join a county team like Pujara did and gain valuable match practice," Manjrekar said.

"India can then evaluate his performance in the initial Tests. If there are positive signs, he can continue. But the last thing you want is Kohli going there and struggling, as we've seen before. That wouldn't be good for Indian cricket," Manjrekar added.

While the former India cricketer might have suggested a County stint for Kohli, his participation is unlikely since the Indian Premier League will begin in late March and go on till late May, and he has a 21-crore contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore with a return to captaincy predicted.

The heat is on Kohli, who has averaged 30.72 and scored just three centuries in the last five years, to work on his play after he was dismissed off the outside edge in each of his knocks in Australia and had no off-side scoring options off the back foot.

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