Former Australia captain Tim Paine asserted that many people told him not to sledge India batting maestro Virat Kohli, which used to annoy him. Kohli enjoys playing against Australia and has a tremendous record with 2042 runs in 25 Tests. He is the fifth-highest run-getter for India in red-ball cricket versus Australia, which has been one of the most daunting sides in world cricket over the years. When you play against Australia, especially Down Under, the opposition batter must also deal with the hostile crowd and sledging from the home team players. Meanwhile, Kohli is one of the few players who thrive under pressure and knows how to deal with situations when the opposition team is going hard against him.
Paine, who was one of Kohli's old Australian nemesis at one stage, suggested that there are equal chances of the Indian star scoring runs irrespective of whether he gets sledged or not.
“People used to say, don't sledge Virat. If you don't sledge Virat... most of the time still get runs, so it doesn't really matter whether you're talking to him or not. I wouldn't try too much to fire up Virat, but I would try and distract him if I could because if you can get a bit of a distraction, he might play a bad shot or lose his concentration. But it used to annoy me when people say, oh, don't sledge him, because people don't get better because someone's talking to them,” Paine told CricTracker.
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Kohli led India to their first-ever Test series win over Australia Down Under during the 2018-19 tour, where Paine was leading the home team.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli led India to their first-ever Test series win over Australia Down Under during the 2018-19 tour, where Paine was leading the home team.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli first toured Australia in 2011-12 when he faced the heat from the fans while fielding. He failed to control his temper and stuck out his middle finger at his hecklers on the second day of the Sydney Test. He replied to the home team and fans with a century in the Adelaide Test and roared loudly in front of them while celebrating it.
He was also sledged by some of the Australian bowlers, including Mitchell Johnson, on the 2015-2016 tour, and it also backfired for the hosts only, as Kohli smashed 692 runs in the five-match series.
The former India captain will resume his rivalry with the Australian team later this year in the Border-Gavaskar trophy, which will be held Down Under this time.