Should, Virat Kohli be included in the playing XI of the Indian Test team, for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be played in Australia? If it’s only a decision based on statistics, then one is afraid that the mercurial batter may be denied the opportunity by the selector down under. However, the kind of scars, Virat has over the years earned, Imaging having batted in Australia, such a player could have never been dropped. In the most recently completed Test Series against New Zealand, Kohli did not come anywhere close to scoring hundred runs cumulatively. Still, as per cricketer’s, Australian cricketer Brett Lee, Kohli is the player to watch when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is concerned.
“He’s got Australian mentality, a killer attitude in him, a never say die spirit. He doesn’t shy away from a fight. He doesn’t shy away from a challenge,” Lee told Fox Cricket.
“His form has been the subject of much speculation lately, but that doesn’t concern me. I understand that with Kohli, he has experience and it’s there within him,” he added.
For Kohli, Australia is still one of the most favourite hunting grounds when it comes to Test matches. The Bengali batsman has scored 1352 runs with a great average of 54.08 in the longest format of the game in Australia.
Virat also has a great tally of six hundred on the Australian soil, something which no other Indian batsman has achieved so far. The figures thus reiterate how well and painlessly Kohli functions while batting in the Australian territory
“He might have only scored 90 runs in total during the three-match Test series that India played against the Kiwis but so what? When he comes over here, he has a very good record in Australia,” conclusively finishing his point, Lee took a fast jab at those who criticize Virat.
Moreover, Lee knew that it was not an exaggeration to compare Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar, with whom he bowled once.
“There has been a lot of speculation and talk around Kohli’s form and trust me when I say this that as soon as Koshi steps out here, he will be ready to fight and quite excited because he is a superstar,” he said.
“It is an old cliche where you don’t want to try to play against the name. You try to treat him, with all due respect, as (another) batsman. And so it was when I was bowling to Sachin Tendulkar. One can be awed by the very size of the man, his history, and what he has done. But the thing with Kohli is there is no dishonour in getting dirty. And I do mean it in a good way. He gets very competitive.”