Sledging Virat Kohli can be a mistake for the opposition, after all, it helps the India skipper to turn into Hulk. No, Kohli doesn't literally turn into an infuriated green monster, but the damage he does is no less.
Australia cricketers have an idea about it and hence, Matthew Wade has already decided not to poke Kohli. Usually, the Aussies try using words to affect someone mentally, but in Kohli's case it can backfire.
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Former India batting legend Rahul Dravid explained why sledging Kohli can be a bad idea for the Aussies when India tour Australia later this year.
“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,” Dravid said on ‘Sony Ten Pit stop’ show aired on the channel’s Facebook page.
Rahul also said that words hardly matter if a cricketer has good skills. “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,” he said.
“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’s a pretty good attack. He knows that as well,” he added.
Dravid continued that team with better skills will leave the other behind. “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,” he further said.
India's Test series against Australia will start from December 3 at Gabba, Brisbane. They are scheduled to play four Tests.
