Virat Kohli says he doesn’t need to get into verbal confrontation with Aussies in upcoming series

Indian captain Virat Kohli said that he doesn’t need to engage in verbal barrage with the Australians during the upcoming series, adding that he is more assured of himself than the previous tours.

Kohli would carry India’s hopes of winning their maiden Test series in Australia in the upcoming four-match affair, which gets underway from December 6 in Adelaide.

The 30-year old however isn’t something new to sledging. Over the years whenever India toured Australia, Kohli has been involved in some memorable occasions of sledging. But now he would step into the Test series as a much more assured individual, having learnt from his past experiences.

“I think from last time round, I’ve become more assured of myself, I don’t really find the need to prove anything to anyone,” said Kohli, as quoted by ‘Macquarie Sports Radio’.

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“In the early stage of my career I used to think of these things as important milestones which are really important in one’s career, but now the focus is purely and solely on making the team win at any cost.

“So … I don’t find the need to get involved in anything with the opposition and I think those are changes that keep happening gradually as you go forward,” he added.

Australian cricket has had some tumultuous times since the infamous ball-tampering scandal earlier this year and ever since, there has been a lot of dialogue and discussion on how the game is to be played, especially after the scathing Longstaff report, which slammed the ‘win at all costs’ cricketing culture of the country.

But Kohli still feels that the hosts would be aggressive in their minds.

“Not really, you might not see the same kind of stuff that happened in the last series. But I think in terms of their body language and intent that they have, I’m sure they’re still going to be aggressive in their minds,” Kohli, who has notched up 6,331 runs at an average of 54.57 from a total of 73 Test matches, said.

“That’s the way Australia have always played, I don’t think there’s any other way they like to play their cricket. I don’t see any incidents happening on the field, I think it’s going to be competitive cricket.

“They’re definitely going to bring their A-game and expect us to bring ours, so we definitely expect stiff competition from Australia as always and we’re definitely not taking anything for granted,” he added further.

(Image credit-Fox Sports)