The Australian media and former cricketers have already started their build-up for the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and once again their target is no other than Virat Kohli. The star Indian cricketer holds a splendid record against the Aussies but will be entering the upcoming five-match series without a single century across formats in 2024.
Despite his dry spell with runs, Virat Kohli has been considered the biggest threat to Australia despite the playing conditions. However, many are questioning Kohli's form after India's shocking whitewash at home against New Zealand where the former captain scored just 93 runs in six innings.
It will be interesting to see how Kohli finishes his run in 2024 as he set to face the toughest challenge in the next few weeks. However, the former Indian cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri has backed the struggling Kohli to hit the ground running in Australia.
Ravi Shastri also sent a warning to Virat Kohli's doubters by reminding them of his stunning record in Australia. Kohli has scored 2042 runs in 44 Test innings against Australia, including 1352 runs in 25 innings at an average of 54.08 in Australia.
“Well, the King is back in his territory. That's all I will tell them,” Shastri told host Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review episode. “When you've earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent's) mind when you go out to bat.”
Shastri was India's head coach when India registered their maiden BGT win under Virat Kohli's leadership in 2018-19. Shastri also tipped his former captain to be calm and play at his own pace in the first few innings of the upcoming series.
“Your juices are flowing, you're charged up. It's again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness because at times you are overeager to get out there and throw the first punch," Shastri added. “But I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat or in the first three innings of the series will be extremely important. If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he'll be fine.”
