India captain Virat Kohli is viewing the England tour with great seriousness and that point was emphasised even more when it was revealed that the Indian run-machine is set to play county cricket to be in the best of shape and complete preparedness for the all-important Test series in England. Kohli will miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan and focus solely on the England tour (from late June to September) where the Indian team will play a five-Test series, three T20Is and a three-match ODI series.

While it is yet to be ascertained which county Kohli will represent, it could be Surrey in all likelihood.

"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 told PTI.

It is learnt that the Indian captain's sole focus is on the five-Test series against England and he is ready to miss the one off Test against Afghanistan starting June 14 as he will be busy with his county stint.

He will leave for England after completing his assignment for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Kohli didn't have a great Test series in England in 2014 when he failed to get even a single half century.

The right-hander managed to score just 134 runs in five Tests at an average of 13.40 with two ducks to his name.

He was found to be vulnerable outside the off-stump and Stuart Broad and James Anderson troubled him a lot.

The BCCI is putting in a lot of effort for the upcoming Test series and want more and more players to get accustomed to English conditions.

Accordingly, Cheteshwar Pujara will be turning up for Yorkshire while Ishant Sharma will be playing for Durham.

It is also learnt that some of the senior India players will also turn up for India A in England in their bid to prepare for the tour.

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The likes of Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane are also expected to prop up their preparations.

(With PTI Inputs)