File photo of Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli
The talismanic Virat Kohli might have mellowed down a bit with age, but the Australia Test series gives him the opportunity to rediscover his old self. Batting form hasn’t been Virat’s friend of late. In the recently-concluded Test series against New Zealand, Virat didn’t even accumulate 100 runs in 6 innings. In Australia, however, every fanatic expects a different Kohli to step up. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri expects Virat’s ‘in-the-face’ attitude to be back Down Under, as the team takes on Australia in the opening Test of the series in Perth.
“You mellow with age, don’t you? But I think at the start of the Test series, you might just see Kohli firing again. He needs to be. I’d like to see him like that again,” Shastri said during a press interaction on Tuesday.
Shastri drew similarities between Kohli and Smith, suggesting the two are the sort of players who can never be written-off, no matter the form they are in. It’s all about getting a couple of good knocks under the belt, and soon, Kohli could be dominating the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“In the face-that’s Kohli. Come Australia, he’ll get his juices flowing. It’s all about how he starts, and for Australia, it’s similar to Steve Smith. Don’t write these guys off-if they fire in the first two or three innings, they can dominate the series,” he said.
The Indian team has also faced criticism over lack of organised warm-up matches ahead of the start of the series. Shastri also said that he would’ve preferred to see India’s first XI taking on a team in an organised contest. But, he is also content with the intra-squad 3-day simulation game, the players were involved in.
“It’s always, ‘how strong will the opposition be?’ That’s the first question you ask (planning a tour game),” he said.
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