File photo of Virat Kohli.© BCCI
Former India cricket coach Ravi Shastri believes Virat Kohli has the potential to turn around his poor form and prosper during the upcoming five-Test Border-Gavaskar series in Australia. Kohli has been going through a rough run across all formats over the last few months. The 36-year-old star batter has scored just one half-century and averaged only 21.33 across five Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand since the start of the year. But Shastri has warned Australia and said Kohli is back in the country where he loves to bat and score runs.
“Well, the King is back in his territory. That’s all I will tell them,” Shastri said on The ICC Review.
“When you’ve earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent’s) mind when you go out to bat.” Shastri was referring to Kohli’s phenomenal performances in Australia, which include a fighting century in Adelaide in his first-ever Test tour in 2011/12, a staggering 692 runs from four Tests during the 2014 tour, and an exceptional 123 in Perth during the 2018/19 series when he captained the side.
Shastri, however, cautioned Kohli to be mindful during the initial phase of the tour.
“Your juices are flowing, you’re charged up. It’s again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness because, at times, you are overeager to get out there and throw the first punch,” the former India all-rounder said.
“But, I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat or in the first three innings of the series will be extremely important. If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he’ll be fine.”
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