Former Australian head coach Justin Langer wants Virat Kohli to enjoy himself in the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia if this is the last time he is playing Downunder. Kohli is under the scanner for his ordinary performance in the recent past and he will look to turn the tables against Pat Cummins’ team.
Kohli could only score 93 runs in three Test matches at an average of 15.50 whereas he scored only 99 runs in two Test matches against Bangladesh at an average of 33.
However, Kohli has scored 2042 runs in 25 Test matches against Australia at an average of 47.48, including eight centuries. Kohli has even better numbers while playing in Australia as he has scored 1352 runs in 13 Test matches at an impressive average of 54.08, including six centuries.
“One thing you never do is write off champions, and that’s in every sport, because they are a champion for a reason. In India, there are one and a half billion cricket-loving people, and then count all the rest around the world, they expect nothing but excellence, and the team will be under intense pressure, so how they fight back will be important,” Langer said on Western Australian.
Langer wants Indian fans to enjoy the performances of players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah in the upcoming series.
“And they’ll be getting written off for being too old, but people say that all the time, and I just can’t wait to see them play. I just hope, if this is the last time (Kohli) is out here, people enjoy it because he is a superstar, so is Rohit Sharma, so is (Ravi) Ashwin, so is (Ravi) Jadeja, so is (Jasprit) Bumrah,” the former Aussie cricketer stated.
The former Australian opener added that the series loss against New Zealand will be a wake-up call and India will be determined to turn the tables against Australia.
“India losing to New Zealand is a bit like North Melbourne beating Brisbane in the grand final at the moment. And not for one millisecond is that disrespect for New Zealand, because they are the great overachievers; they are brilliant,” the former Australian opener said.
“I think they’d won two Test matches (in India), and to win the series 3-0, that’s an amazing achievement. They’ve just been beaten three-nil by New Zealand, so India will be humbled by that and equally determined to remedy it because the pressure on them will be intense,” Langer concluded.
The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.
