Whenever India tours Australia, it usually is a battle of temperaments and the mental game as much as it is a game of cricket. With the Australian team notorious for trying to make visiting teams feel uncomfortable down under, former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath has said that it’s a ripe opportunity for the team to get on the nerves of India’s star players, including Virat Kohli.
Speaking on CODE Sports, McGrath stated that the Australians have plenty of material to try and get under the skin of the Indian unit. “Without a doubt, especially after coming off a 3-0 loss against New Zealand, you’ve got plenty of ammunition to back yourself up,” said McGrath. “So put the pressure on them and see if they’re up for it.”
India did suffer a torrid home series defeat against New Zealand, thoroughly outplayed by the Kiwis as they lost a series at home for the first time in 12 years, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be a bounce-back opportunity.
“If they go hard at [Kohli], if he gets in the fight with emotions, there’s a bit of chat out there, who knows he might sort of lift,” continued McGrath, in particular about India’s star batter. “But I think he’s probably under pressure a little bit, and if he has a couple of low scores to start with, he could really feel it.”
Will Cummins' Australia continue the sledging?
While teams of McGrath’s era were all too happy to sledge and dominate opposition verbally, the Australian team under Pat Cummins tries to play cricket under a different set of rules to that of years past.
{{/usCountry}}While teams of McGrath’s era were all too happy to sledge and dominate opposition verbally, the Australian team under Pat Cummins tries to play cricket under a different set of rules to that of years past.
{{/usCountry}}However, although they have lost the two previous BGT series at home, the Aussies might have a slight pre-existing mental edge due to the twin victories in the WTC and ODI World Cup finals in 2023.
Nevertheless, with Australia trying to take back to Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in 10 years, Cummins and company could do with a competitive edge, which could begin by neutralising India’s most prominent and senior batter in the team.
“I think he’s quite an emotional player. When he’s up, he’s up, and when he’s down, he sort of struggles a little bit,” concluded the legendary Australian bowler. However, sledging Kohli is something that has failed to work against the Indian batter in the past, with Kohli always ready to give back as good as he gets, and often more fired-up by aggression than anything else.
India’s tour of Australia begins on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.