A struggling Virat Kohli needed the fire from Australia to return to form. But Aussies have tamed King Kohli's aggression with the love and respect which is not a good sign for India.
Not many countries welcome their fiercest rivals with open arms. Australia certainly doesn’t have a history of doing so. But Virat Kohli has been an exception. “The most Australian” than an Australian cricketer, Virat Kohli is a fan favourite in the land down under. Ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Australian media welcomed Kohli like they did not do with Pat Cummins after winning either the World Test Championship or the ODI World Cup. But beware Kohli fans, this could be an Australian ploy.
Virat Kohli is struggling. He is getting old and he is not the threat he once used to be. That’s the natural progression of a cricketer. King Kohli is not immune to that fact. But on what could be his last tour to Australia, Kohli needed every bit of fire to charge him up. Instead, Australia bored him with love.
There was no sledging, no igniting the fire, no trash talk about Kohli. Everything seemed rosy. Kohli was welcomed with photos on the newspaper front page in Hindi and Punjabi—not something Australians have done in the past.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting who led the charge of many fiery comments against Indians in the past was rather diplomatic in assessing Kohli.
“Kohli is a star. He’s a superstar, has been a superstar of the game for so long. He’s passionate about the way that he plays. He’s passionate about his team. He wants to win and he plays with his heart on his sleeve,” Ricky Ponting said of Virat Kohli on the ICC Review podcast.
Australian ploy: Don’t sledge Kohli
Unlike the previous years, Virat Kohli arrived in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy this time, short of runs and confidence. In the last 12 months, Kohli has averaged just 26.35 in Tests with no centuries and just two fifties. Kohli needed the fire to get back in form. But Australians paid heed to former captain Michael Clarke’s words. They greeted Kohli with flowers.
Clarke warned the Aussies not to sledge Kohli. If Virat Kohli is cornered, he will pounce. That Kohli has 16 centuries across Test and ODIs against Australia is a testament to the fact. He riles up the crowd, the players, the media — all the stakeholders. Australians took notice.
“I seriously don’t think the Australians will be as silly to do this. That’s exactly what Virat wants. He wants them to get into a fight with him. He will use it to get into the action. You shouldn’t give him that opportunity, and I am sure the Australians know it,” Michael Clarke told RevSportz.
Short of runs in 2011-12 ahead of Australia tour, Australian media left no stones unturned in criticising Kohli and the struggling Team India. Virat Kohli fired back with a century in Adelaide even though India lost that match.
In 2014-15 tour, Kohli bullied Australia in another series defeat. The infamous row with Mitchell Johnson charged him so much that Kohli smashed twin centuries in that Adelaide Test.
In 2018, India finally had their revenge as they beat Australia 2-1. Kohli smashed a century in Perth and 82 in Melbourne.
“Isko mein itna maarunga naa, and that’s exactly what I did”
Kohli saab talking about the 2014 Australia tour and his battle against Mitchell Johnson 👑💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/geP35IUz08
With the past experience of Kohli, Australians do not want to provoke Kohli. Instead bore him with love and get rid of him, exploiting his weaknesses. It did work in the IND vs AUS 1st Test. Josh Hazlewood got him for the 10th time across formats. Extra bounce in IND vs AUS Perth Test did the trick this time. Kohli walked away without uttering a word with his head down. That’s exactly what Australia wanted.
Surely, Kohli has earned everyone’s respect but it’s Australia. Aussies do not go gentle on their opponents. From fans, broadcasters to cricketers and former cricketers — all have a go at the opponents. England have suffered, South Africa have and now, the biggest rivalry is against India as they have not won a Border Gavaskar Trophy in a decade. And Kohli is their favourite target.
Did Kohli miss the trick?
However, one might argue that Virat Kohli missed the trick and fell into the trap he had avoided earlier. After scoring just five runs off 12 balls, Kohli missed an easy catch in the slips. He was the first to raise his hand saying, it was not a catch.
Next, as Mohammed Siraj tried to play fire with fire, riling up Marnus Labuschagne, Kohli sort of stopped himself from joining the sledge squad. He pulled back after just removing the bails from the stumps.
There was no exchange of words, no aggression. The Kohli of the past went toe toe-to-toe with a fiery Mitchell Johnson and gave it back to Tim Paine, Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon and David Warner. But this Virat Kohli is a changed man. He is more reserved now. He lacks the aggression he is known for.
India Cricket Team could do with the old Kohli, especially with Rohit Sharma absent in IND vs AUS Perth Test. Jasprit Bumrah is a rookie captain and he is surrounded by many youngsters who are playing in Australia for the first time.
King Kohli has a love-hate relationship with Australia. He loves to score runs and hates to lose against them. Kohli has scored over 5000 runs against Australia, second only to his idol Sachin Tendulkar. In Australia, Kohli averages 52.19 in Tests, 47.17 in ODIs and 64.42 in T20Is. All of that signals the threat he is to Australia, who have not won the last three Border Gavaskar Trophy series.
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