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Regarded as one of the finest batsmen of the modern era, Indian skipper Virat Kohli is ready to lead Team India in the upcoming white-ball series against Australia beginning from Friday (November 27).
Post the ODI and T20I series, Kohli will captain India in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide before returning home to attend the birth of his first child.
It might be a relief for the hosts that Kohli won’t play the remaining three Tests in the 4-match series, but he shall be the mainstay of Indian batting line-up during the three-match ODI and T20I leg. And Aussies are preparing hard to tackle the Kohli-threat in the limited-overs series.
Speaking about the same, Australia all-rounder, Marcus Stoinis reckoned that Indian batting genius would be motivated to score runs against Australia. Stonis said that since Kohli will be returning home a bit early, he will be ready to show his ‘A-game’ against the Aussies.
Stoinis also dropped his opinion on Kohli’s decision to return home after the Adelaide Test for the birth of his child. The Western Australian said that the Delhi-born has made the right choice to attend a special occasion of his life.
“Don’t worry about Virat. He is up for every single game that he’s playing. Yeah, maybe there will be extra motivation, but I don’t think there’s any extra motivation than 110 per cent,” said Stoinis as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“So let’s see. I am sure he (Kohli) will be ready to go. He is getting home for the birth of his kid, which is the right decision, in my opinion. So I am sure he will be extra motivated,” he added.
We have got plans for Kohli: Stoinis
The 31-year-old asserted that Tim Paine-led Australia have an efficacious plan against Kohli. Stoinis admitted that some of their strategies did not work in the past as players like Kohli are extraordinary.
The Perth-lad said that one couldn’t beat batsmen like the India skipper without a proper plan, so you have to hope that the tactics fall in your side.
“We’ve definitely got our strategies, we’ve had things that have worked in the past, and at other times the same plans haven’t worked, and he’s made some runs. Obviously, he (Kohli) is a great player, and to all these good players, you do what you want to do, you have your plans, and on the day, you get extra competitive, and you hope it all falls in your side of the court,” Stoinis added further.
