Amar Virdi hopes to apply winter experience with England during Surrey's County Championship campaign

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"Those guys aren't part of the squad. They've been here as part of the reserves squad. They've worked extremely hard and been a credit to themselves, improved all the time and they've continued to get better. I couldn't be more pleased with their development and they'll be better players for this experience but they're not involved in the core squad."

Touring life is not what it used to be. Bio-secure bubbles, quarantine, hotel dwelling and relentless schedules mean that while travelling parties are bigger than ever, their liberty is severely compromised.

Countries, cities and districts are now defined by bedspreads, wallpaper, socially distanced nets and empty seats rather than mountain ranges, open countryside, charming locals and bustling atmospheres.

Add that experience to the misfortune of not actually being considered for selection, and you start to build a picture of what the life of the typical international cricketer looks like in the Covid-19 era. At least for some such a nomadic existence is broken up by regular matches, but others spend months away from home comforts knowing they are merely making up the numbers.

Amar Virdi was among six players who spent the entire Sri Lanka and India Test series as part of the reserve group. Nine weeks of going from London to Galle, Galle to Chennai, Chennai to Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad to London, full in the knowledge only complete disaster would see them parachuted into the selection conversation.

Joe Root's comments at the start were a tribute to their fortitude, yet it summed up their sad status on tour.

Fortunately for England, 22-year-old Virdi - who is only 28 matches into his first-class and senior career - is a willing worker. That he was on the fringes, behind Jack Leach and Dom Bess, mattered little to him. He prepared for every Test like it would be his first, a level of professionalism that will stand him in good stead when the call finally comes, and something that helped him deal with life on the road.

"It was a great experience," he admitted. "It was a long trip but it was very beneficial. Being in an environment like that is where I want to be. 

"Getting insight and bowling at batters like Rooty (Joe Root) and Stokesy (Ben Stokes) in the nets is great practice and it has really helped my game.

"There wasn't any indication (I would be selected) but you always prepare just in case. You never know when an opportunity can come. People can get injured in warm-ups and before, you never know. I was preparing as if I could be playing and working at my game alongside that."

^{Virdi spent nine weeks with England's Test team - but largely had a watching brief}

He added: "The mindset and the attitude was never that I'm not going to play. That can be a bit negative. As you've seen with a lot of cricket over the years things can change very quickly.

"I know that I am younger than some of the other players I was still preparing as if I was going to play. There were two or three players ahead of me who were going to play first. 

"Having that mindset of being ready to play that was important because these long trips get you a bit down. 

"It was an opportunity to develop my game, get better at what I do, improve, add things to my armoury and come back and have a good county season. That was my outlook on it."

The Surrey spinner had the next best thing to playing; being in close quarters to some of the best in his field.

As well as training alongside Jack Leach, Virdi was able to study Lasith Embuldeniya, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin who collected 75 wickets between them and understand the standard that is required to succeed at international level.

"There is no room for errors and if there is it is very minimal," Virdi explained. "Even when the conditions are in favour of the bowler you still need to have that consistency and I think that was one of their main strengths. 

^{Virdi has not played a first-class game in April since 2018}

"You take Axar for example, being able to land it in a certain area over and over again and just relying on the pitch or allowing the pitch to do the work seemed like the way forward. It seems like consistency is very important and that was a big difference.

"I was quite happy with how I went. I've got lots of things to work on and spending time at the county game as much as possible is the best way to keep preparing for those kinds of opportunities. The more experience you have under your belt it is only going to do you good. For me, I am not putting myself under any pressure to play (for England) tomorrow, and when the opportunity does come hopefully I'll be ready for that."

There is some irony that Virdi's first chance to apply those learnings will come on green pitches in the County Championship. He hasn't played a first-class match in April since Surrey's last title-winning campaign in 2018 when he claimed four second-innings wickets against Hampshire, who are visitors to The Kia Oval at the end of the month.

Naturally an attacking offspinner on surfaces that provide assistance, Virdi is looking forward to implementing a different strategy to find success.

"It is a new experience for me because I haven't played on early-season pitches," he admitted. "I find you always get a bit of grip when I've played so this year might be a bit different. You work out a few different game plan for these kinds of pitches.

"It is not just a case of being defensive - I wouldn't say I am a defensive bowler. It is a case of finding other ways to attack. It might be through maybe a defensive mindset by bowling maidens and keeping things really simple and attacking in that way. I am always looking to attack and keep that mindset regardless of the conditions."

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