“From an Australian point of view, Kohli is public enemy No. 1. But, I wouldn’t try and fire him up. I think he thrives on that and he’s a real competitor. He loves being in the fight and loves the contest out in the middle. I’d make sure we have some very clear plans and we try and stick to them as best as we possibly can. There’s no need to get involved in that sort of verbal barrage because I think that fires him up even more,” Hussey said.

In case you didn’t know…

Australia will be touring India to play in a four-match Test series that starts in Pune on February 23. This is one of the most anticipated series in 2017 as Australia are yet to win a Test match in India since the Nagpur Test in 2004. This series will also feature a lot of internal contests and the battle between two of the best Test batsmen at the moment, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith will be an interesting affair.

The heart of the matter

During Pakistan’s series against Australia, Smith revealed that the Aussies will try to make Kohli a little bit angry and ruffle his feathers as the Indian skipper is a very emotional character on the field and will look to get his wicket by doing so.

The last time Australia tried to fire him up by sledging, Kohli scored 692 runs in 8 innings at an average of 86.5 in India’s tour to Australia in 2014. Hussey admitted that Kohli is Aussies’ public enemy no.1 and still, he wouldn’t ruffle the Delhi batsman as he is known to take the attack to the opposition under these circumstances.

What’s next?

Steve Smith will hope that his team puts up a fight and try to better the scoreline from their last tour to India in which MS Dhoni’s men whitewashed Australia in a four-match series in 2013. Kohli, on the other hand, will look to take revenge for India’s 2-0 loss in the 2014-15 series and will look to continue his unbeaten run in the longer formats.

Also read: Kevin Pietersen warns Australia ahead of their tour to India

Sportskeeda’s Take

There is nothing wrong in what Mike Hussey said about sledging Virat Kohli. Australians have faced the wrath of the Indian skipper in the past and it will be foolish on their part if they decide to take a big gamble by trying to fire him up and eventually get his wicket.

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