Australian batsman Matthew Wade says he would make a conscious effort to stay away from being involved in any verbal altercation with India skipper Virat Kohli and his team when they would visit down under for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.
Wade is aware of the change in attitude of the Indian team and how Kohli and company don't shy away from making their thoughts clear, using these verbal face-offs to their advantage on the field.
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"They’re a hard team, they use it (sledging) to their advantage very well. Virat is very clever the way he uses his words or his body language. So they use it as an advantage now. To be honest, I don’t really want to engage too much into that,” Wade told reporters via video conference.
“I know that they thrive off that energy that comes between two players. They’re probably as good at doing that as anyone in the world at the moment, so it’s something I might stay away from this time."
Wade talked from his experience facing India on two difficult tours of the subcontinent in 2013 and 2017. The 32-year-old hasn't played the arch-rivals in Tests at home in Australia.
"I have been lucky enough to play India but I haven’t played them in Australia, played them twice in India which is hard work. They are a fierce team."
"They are on your face, they have alert fielders which probably India haven’t been renowned for in 20 year period, they are up and about all the time when you are batting."
The more aggressive style is also borne out of the rise in fast bowling stocks that India has up its sleeves. That was evident on the last trip when the likes of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami performed brilliantly and helped India pull off a historic series win.
"They have fast bowlers as well that has come through in the last 4-5 years, so it will be interesting playing India in Australia and probably their pace is their big weapon when they come here ...it will be a great challenge for the group," concluded Wade.
The four-match Test series is scheduled to begin in Brisbane on December 3, followed by games in Adelaide (Dec 11-15), Melbourne (Dec 26-30) and Sydney (Jan 3-7).
(Inputs from PTI)
