The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) received a pat on its back from the home fans for their decision to allow Virat Kohli to play county cricket in a bid to get acclimatised to the overseas conditions ahead of India's much-anticipated tour of England in July.

"Virat will be playing for a division one county side for sure. I wouldn't like to add anything more to it. There were talks with Surrey and Essex," a senior BCCI official revealed earlier. For a man who failed to register even a single fifty in India's forgettable outing back in the 2014 Test series, the move will surely help Kohli who enjoyed a great run in the recently-concluded tour of South Africa.

But, while Kohli's highly-awaited stint in county cricket has elated fans, it seems to have attracted criticism from former England captain Bob Willis who wants the Indian run-machine to “suffer” from the wretched form he endured in the last tour, when his team travels to England later this year.

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“I can't stand overseas players in county cricket,” Willis told 'Sky Sports'. “He should be made to suffer and average 30 in England as he has done before. We don't want England starting to lose Test matches at home because we're accommodating all of these visiting players,” Willis claimed.

Apart from Kohli, the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara (Yorkshire) and Ishant Sharma (Sussex) are also set to play county cricket for different sides ahead of their long tour. Willis, however, is upset that England will be losing home advantage ahead of the series and termed it as a detrimental move for the counties.

“It doesn't benefit the players stranded in the second XI year on year and the youngsters. The only way to improve our Test team is to have as many England-qualified players playing in the County Championship as possible,” said Willis, who has played 90 Test matches for his country taking 325 wickets.

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“Instead, they're going to pay Kohli, presumably, five figures a match so he can hone his skills in English conditions before a Test series. It's a nonsense,” fumed Willis.

While Willis shared his own bizarre opinion, Surrey's director of women's cricket - Ebony Rainford-Brent - feels that the presence of a popular player like Kohli will benefit and further boost the profile of county cricket. “Box office players like Kohli will give county cricket a bit of a buzz and it should be celebrated. You want the best people playing and if that turns out to be for Surrey, then so be it,” she said.

Giving the example of Kumar Sangakkara who played for Surrey last year, Rainford-Brent said: "Look at Kumar Sangakkara, for example, and the amount the Surrey players soaked up from playing alongside a great like that for the last two years. Hearing they may now be around Kohli, I think the players would be excited by that”.

India, who are currently ranked No. 1 in both Tests and ODIs, will lock horns with England in three T20Is, three ODIs and a five-match Test series, scheduled to begin from 3 July.