'King Is Weaker': Former Australia Star Takes Brutal Dig At Virat Kohli Before BGT 2024 Opener

All eyes in cricketing world are now firmly set on upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia. five-match grueling contest is set to take place in backdrop of World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will be held in June next year to decide ultimate Test team. Both India and Australia are in running for a spot in WTC final and Border-Gavaskar Trophy will take m a step closer.

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Former Australia player takes a dig at Virat Kohli's form

Ahe of BGT 2024-25 opener in Perth on November 22, former Australian leg-spinner Kerry O'Keeffe has taken a brutal dig at veteran India batter Virat Kohli. O'Keeffe believes that Kohli has become slightly weaker than last time he toured Australia for a Test series, citing his poor form in longest format. However, O'Keeffe's concerns are not misplaced, as Kohli has scored just two Test centuries in last five years and has averaged below 30.

Kerry O'Keeffe also warned Indian captain Rohit Sharma to be prepared for a challenging time from Australian players, as it has been a longstanding tactic of Australian team to target visiting captain. O'Keeffe highlighted that Australian team has a history of putting pressure on opposing captain, trying to unsettle m and gain an vantage.

"Rohit Sharma may miss one or two Tests, but he is captain, and Australia always tries to torpedo visiting captain. It's been a tactic y've used forever, and I think y'll go very hard at Rohit Sharma," Kerry O'Keeffe told Fox Sports.

"Kohli, who has worried m (Australia) over years, what a stunning player he's been; but in sport, if you sense that king of jungle is slightly weaker, you poke a bit of cheek at him," he ded.

"I'm fascinated to see what Virat Kohli ends up with at end of summer. It could be decisive point in whole summer. If he has an absolutely blazing series, India could win," O'Keeffe said.

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India vs Australia: Squs for Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India’s squ: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed

Australia's squ: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis He, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc