India's Tour of Australia: Fine With Playing Without Any Altercation: Virat Kohli
Ahead of the much-awaited tour of Australia, India skipper Virat Kohli hinted he is likely to stay away from altercations.
The last time India and Australia met in a Test series, it was marred with numerous controversies. India had won the fiercely-fought series at home last year. However, controversies had left a bad taste in the mouth. To make things worse, the Australian media did not leave a single opportunity to target Virat Kohli.
The series of controversies had started when Australia captain Steve Smith took dressing room help in taking a DRS call. A furious Kohli had then stopped short of calling him a cheat in a press conference. However, Kohli had let his emotions get the better of him at the end of the series.
During the post-match conference, he had said that his views on friendship with the Australians have changed.
“No, it has changed for sure. I thought that was the case but it has changed for sure. As I said in the heat of the battle, you want to be competitive but yeah I have been proven wrong. The thing I said before the first Test, I have certainly been proven wrong and you won’t hear me say that ever again,” Kohli had said.
Both the teams are once again gearing up to renew the Test rivalry. And although Steve Smith and David Warner are set to miss the action due to the bans, one can expect fireworks on the field. However, Kohli has hinted he would like to stay away from controversies.
Speaking ahead of the team’s departure to Australia, Kohli said:
“When it comes to getting engaged in an argument on the field, I have been completely okay playing without an altercation. I have enough belief in my abilities.. those were very immature things I used to feed on when I was younger.”
“Now being captain of the team, you do not have time to think of anything else apart from what the team needs. We were always the ones giving it back. As long as it does not start, we will not go out looking for anything but we will reciprocate,” he added.
India will start their tour of Australia with the T20I series before playing the Tests and ODIs. The T20I series will get underway on November 21.
