Published 20:59 IST, June 11th 2020
Rahul Dravid reveals why Aussie players should not instigate Kohli in this year's series
Former Indian skipper former Rahul Dravid revealed why the Australian players should not instigate Virat Kohli during the four-match Test series later this year
Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has revealed why the Australians should not instigate the current Indian captain and batting megastar Virat Kohli when they tour Australia later this year for a four-match Test series. This was evident during India's tour to Australia in the 2014/15 season when Kohli had made his bat do the talking after former pacer Mitchell Johnson had tried to play mind games with him. He ended up scoring 692 runs in the four-match Test series.
'He loves the fight': Rahul Dravid
“He sort of lives for it, he loves the fight, he loves the contest. He’s pretty competitive and aggressive as it is. You don’t want to get him more aggressive, I don’t know how more he can get,” Rahul Dravid said on ‘Sony Ten Pit stop’ show. "In the end, a lot of this stuff does not really affect players. In the end, it’s a contest. They know they have to be at the top of their games. The skills have to be top class. They want to compete against someone like Virat. Virat also knows he has to be at top of the game if he wants to perform against the likes of Cummins, Starc, Pattinson, Hazlewood. That is a pretty good attack. He knows that as well", said the ex-champion batsman while appearing on a Cricket talk show.
“So, it’s not about words, it’ about the skills. It’s a skills game. The players will be looking to rely on his skills, and who can perform consistently over a long period of time in a Test match, and the team who does that will triumph". “I think Wade is trying to say that they are going to focus on that skill – and if they get that right, then they can cause him a problem. If they get it slightly wrong, then we know what Virat could do", said the former Indian captain.
India Tour of Australia 2020
As per various reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sources have confirmed that the schedule has been agreed upon by both the cricket boards i.e. the BCCI as well as Cricket Australia (CA). However, the decision has been made taking into consideration that Australia's COVID-19 situation does not worsen, and should that happen, then the one venue option might be brought back.
Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the second Test match at the Adelaide Oval will be a Day-Night affair while the last two matches will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground respectively.
Can India create history once again?
India had beaten Australia when they had toured Australia in the 2018-19 season 2-1 in the four-match series to win their maiden Test series on Australian soil. It remains to be seen whether the Virat Kohli-led side will succeed in retaining the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy by getting the better of a full-strength Australian side that features the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, etc.
Updated 20:59 IST, June 11th 2020