There is no denying that Virat Kohli has been the face of Indian cricket for the last decade despite having stepped down from captaincy three years ago. Hence, just like the old times, Kohli dominated the front pages of Australian newspapers upon his arrival in Perth on Sunday, two weeks before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In fact, Kohli hitting the Australian shores ahead of anyone else was so big and meant so much that some publications dedicated fonts in Hindi and Punjabi for the star cricketer as they successfully succeeded in hyping the five-Test series between the two teams starting November 22.
The stance of the Australian media went viral on social media, to the extent that Indian fans shared images of the frontpage of a newspaper, bearing Kohli's face, and the headline reading: "Yugon ki ladai (Fight for the ages)." The same newspaper also had a section in Punjabi, with an article on young India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. The headline read: "Navam Raja (The new king)."
A new challenge awaits Virat Kohli
Kohli, who celebrated his 36th birthday exactly a week ago, was the first Indian player to arrive in Perth on Sunday. A separate batch of about five players left for Australia on Sunday, while the remainder, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, departed from Mumbai on Monday. However, there is no confirmation yet of India captain Rohit Sharma's availability for the series opener.
Kohli came under fire following a poor home-season run, which concluded with the series against New Zealand earlier this month, where India suffered a humiliating 0-3 whitewash. He scored just 93 runs at 15.50, his lowest average in a home series in the last seven years. The Australia Tests could offer a fresh lease of life to Kohli's career as he loves batting against them. With over 2000 runs from 25 Tests, Kohli has a fine record against the Aussies, and if there's one opponent he would want to face at this moment, it's the reigning Test and World Champions.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting reckons no top-order batter would have survived a run of just "two (three) Test hundreds in the last five years," expressing concern over Kohli's form. However, the former India captain was backed by Gambhir, who hit back at Ponting during India's pre-departure press conference on Monday.
"What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket, and more importantly, have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men. They've achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well," said Gambhir.
Despite Gambhir's backing, another poor run could leave Kohli's Test career in dire straits.
There is no denying that Virat Kohli has been the face of Indian cricket for the last decade despite having stepped down from captaincy three years ago. Hence, just like the old times, Kohli dominated the front pages of Australian newspapers upon his arrival in Perth on Sunday, two weeks before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In fact, Kohli hitting the Australian shores ahead of anyone else was so big and meant so much that some publications dedicated fonts in Hindi and Punjabi for the star cricketer as they successfully succeeded in hyping the five-Test series between the two teams starting November 22.
The stance of the Australian media went viral on social media, to the extent that Indian fans shared images of the frontpage of a newspaper, bearing Kohli's face, and the headline reading: "Yugon ki ladai (Fight for the ages)." The same newspaper also had a section in Punjabi, with an article on young India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. The headline read: "Navam Raja (The new king)."
A new challenge awaits Virat Kohli
Kohli, who celebrated his 36th birthday exactly a week ago, was the first Indian player to arrive in Perth on Sunday. A separate batch of about five players left for Australia on Sunday, while the remainder, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, departed from Mumbai on Monday. However, there is no confirmation yet of India captain Rohit Sharma's availability for the series opener.
Kohli came under fire following a poor home-season run, which concluded with the series against New Zealand earlier this month, where India suffered a humiliating 0-3 whitewash. He scored just 93 runs at 15.50, his lowest average in a home series in the last seven years. The Australia Tests could offer a fresh lease of life to Kohli's career as he loves batting against them. With over 2000 runs from 25 Tests, Kohli has a fine record against the Aussies, and if there's one opponent he would want to face at this moment, it's the reigning Test and World Champions.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting reckons no top-order batter would have survived a run of just "two (three) Test hundreds in the last five years," expressing concern over Kohli's form. However, the former India captain was backed by Gambhir, who hit back at Ponting during India's pre-departure press conference on Monday.
"What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket, and more importantly, have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men. They've achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well," said Gambhir.
Despite Gambhir's backing, another poor run could leave Kohli's Test career in dire straits.
Source Name : Hindustan Times