Australia accepts Virat Kohli as Indian captain instead of Rohit Sharma for Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Virat Kohli has a long relationship with Australia which has transformed drastically over the years. Kohli, who was earlier an aggressive cricketer and was always in the face of his opposition, has got a lot calmer in the last few years.

Recently, the star India batter arrived in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He was also the first of all the Indian players to arrive in Australia in order to acclimatize to the conditions.

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Virat Kohli appears on the front page of the Australian newspaper

There was a buzz in the Australian media upon Virat Kohli's arrival down under. An Australian newspaper put Kohli's face on the front page with the headline, "Yugon ki ladai (Fight for the ages)."

In the same newspaper, there was a Punjabi article on Yashasvi Jaiswal as well. The headline of the articles was "Navam Raja (The new king).

KING KOHLI - THE FACE OF CRICKET. 🐐

- Virat Kohli in the Front Cover Page of The Telegraph. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PGIxNeDTbi

— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) November 12, 2024

Virat Kohli's numbers in Australia

Virat Kohli has a great record in Australia. He has been touring Australia consistently for more than a decade and has left his impression on most of occasions. His first Test hundred came in 2012 against Australia in Adelaide when he announced his arrival to the longest format of the game.

Kohli has played 13 Tests in Australia and scored 1352 runs at an average of 54.08 with 6 hundreds and 4 fifties. In the Adelaide Test in 2014, he led India in Test cricket for the first time and smashed twin hundreds in the match.

On the other hand, young opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal is going to be a key player for India in the upcoming five-match Test series in Australia. Jaiswal has been brilliant ever since his Test debut last year and has established himself as one of the most consistent run-scorers for India.

The left-handed batter has played 14 Tests in which he has scored 1407 runs at an average of 56.28. This will be Jaiswal's first Test tour of Australia and he will be challenged by Australia's experienced fast bowling line-up.

Virat Kohli's poor form

Kohli is going through a torrid time currently, especially in Tests. The 36-year-old had a disappointing home season recently. He scored just 93 runs in three Tests at an average of 15.50 which is way below his career average.

His form was a big reason behind India's 0-3 Test series defeat to New Zealand at home recently. Kohli will be looking to gain form quickly but will face a stern challenge from Australia's potent bowling attack. However, he knows how to score runs and backs himself to come out on top again.

The first Test of the five-match Test series will be played in Perth in November 2022. India needs to win at least four matches this series to confirm their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year.