‘The way he gets into a battle…’: Steve Smith believes Virat Kohli is Australian in thoughts and action | Cricket News

Australia’s batting mainstay Steve Smith has showered praises on India’s star batter Virat Kohli, saying that the latter’s on-field attitude and approach towards the game is very Australian-like.

“He’s a very passionate, competitive person… he gets into a battle. In a way, I think he’s Australian in his thoughts and actions, the way he gets into a contest,” Smith said while speaking on the ‘The Back Page’ podcast on SEN Radio.

Virat and Smith have shared a fierce rivalry over the years but the Aussie batter feels the Indian superstar brings out the best in him when they are up against each other.

“He loves that and I love getting into a battle with him as well. I think it brings out the best in both of us. We love getting into a contest and trying to test each other out,” Smith added.

The 33-year-old Smith also revealed that him and Kohli often exchanged messages off the field.

“I have had some really good battles with him over the years. We have played a lot of cricket against each other, whether it be Test, One-Day or T20 cricket in India, Australia, all around the world. We do send messages to each other,” Smith said.

“It’s been nice to catch up with him, have a chat off the field and get to know him a bit more. He’s a really nice guy. I’ve enjoyed those moments,” he further added.

A series where both Smith and Kohli will be once again pitted against each other is the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy which begins from February 9. The series will be crucial for both India and Australia from the World Test Championship final qualification point of view.

India are currently placed number 2 on the WTC points table while Australia lead the charts.

The Border-Gavaskar series will be a four-match affair with the first Test to be played in Nagpur from February 9. The second Test will be played in New Delhi from February 17 while the third Test will be in Dharamsala from March 1. The fourth and final Test will be played in Ahmedabad from March 9.

For India, the return of Ravindra Jadeja in the Test fold will be a big boost. India missed his services dearly the last time they played a Test series at home against Sri Lanka and conceded 400 plus runs in the first innings of both the Tests.

With Jadeja alongside Ashwin, India’s spin attack will be formidable in the series.

For the visitors, the series is a chance for the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne to leave a mark on Indian soil in Test cricket — something they haven’t done previously when they last toured India in 2017.

Both Warner and Smith had a forgettable series and will be eager to better their records in India.

India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.

DELIVERY OF CONSISTENCY AND COMPETITIVENESS

India will reign supreme, with Kohli continuing his sizzling form

Smith is a master of spin and fast bowlers

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