- England’s Test stars will meet up on Sunday to prepare to take on Zimbabwe
- Players have been warned by their bosses to avoid talking and posting about golf
England’s cricketers have been told by their bosses to stop talking about golf ahead of meeting up on Sunday to prepare for the Test against Zimbabwe later this month.
Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of cricket, has also asked them to refrain from posting about it on social media.
The directive follows criticism last winter that the limited-overs team placed greater emphasis on playing 18 holes than addressing their struggles against spin in India.
Key is concerned the hard work behind the relaxed environment head coach Brendon McCullum has created is in danger of being overlooked.
England’s Test squad have used golf for team-bonding and it features heavily on winter tours.
England cricketer Joe Root pictured teeing off in golf’s ‘Hickory Challenge’ prior to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the Old Course St. Andrews in September 2022
All-rounder Ben Stokes took part in the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am at Wentworth in 2019
ECB director of cricket Rob Key has told England’s players not to talk about golf on social media
Meanwhile, India are facing the third Test retirement of one of their generational superstars within six months following news that Virat Kohli does not want to tour England this summer.
Kohli, 36, is understood to have told the Indian hierarchy that the time is right for him to step away given that the five-match series against Ben Stokes’ team signals the start of a new World Test Championship cycle.
Although the development has only just come to light, he has been in discussions with Indian board officials for weeks and is due to discuss the issue further with chief selector Ajit Agarkar in the next few days.
It follows the Test goodbyes of two 38-year-olds since December: captain Rohit Sharma calling it quits this week after Ravichandran Ashwin’s 106-cap career ended with a haul of 537 wickets.
If Kohli cannot be persuaded to continue, he will retire as India’s most successful captain – with 40 wins in 68 matches – in addition to 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.
Virat Kohli is understood to have told the Indian hierarchy he wants to retire from Test cricket
The 36-year-old does not want to tour England this summer to start the new World Test Championship cycle
His personal statistics have plunged over the past six years, however. At its peak in 2019, his average stood at 55.1 but his long-format performances have not maintained the level of his limited-overs ones since.
Last year, Kohli retired from Twenty20 internationals last July after India won the World Cup and it was expected that he would concentrate on Tests given that bilateral one-day series are on the wane.
However, his absence from India’s top six would leave the tourists with a lack of experience and the absence of a wise head to whoever is the new captain.
Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah are the favourites to succeed Rohit ahead of a tour that has not been kind to India in terms of recent results: they have won just four and lost 13 in the past four visits.
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ECB chiefs urge England’s Test stars to stop talking and posting about golf