Mitchell Johnson has credited his one-time rival Virat Kohli for transforming Indian cricket.© AFP
Australia have not beaten India home or away in a Test series since the 2014/15 tour Down Under. Currently under the leadership of Pat Cummins, the Aussies would look to right the wrong in the five-match series starting next Friday. Former pacer Mitchell Johnson, who was part of the last Australia side to beat India, has credited his one-time rival Virat Kohli for transforming the Indian cricket for good. Johnson feels Kohli’s combative attitude is one of his biggest attributes.
“When Virat Kohli first came on the scene, I remember hearing about him before I saw him. Many were saying he was the next Sachin Tendulkar, even though we all knew Sachin could never be replaced. I was fortunate enough to play against both Indian legends in all formats and while there are some similarities, they were also very different. One of Kohli’s attributes stood out early to me above all others – he was up for the fight!” Johnson wrote in his column for The West Australian.
“That kind of aggressive attitude was something we had rarely seen from an Indian player at that point. We were used to giving it but didn’t always get it back in return. While the occasional player from India may have been combative in moments, Kohli really made it a part of his game. He took his team with him as well so it’s not an understatement to say that Kohli changed the face of Indian cricket, taking a new generation of players and showing them how to play tough cricket,” he added.
Johnson recalled the 2014-15 series against India where Kohli did the majority of the scoring, even though Australia won the four match series 2-0. Johnson also said he had a personal rivalry with Kohli, but he enjoyed every minute of their duels.
“I remember hearing at the back end of Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag‘s careers, a young Kohli would push his teammates to go harder at training, particularly with fielding drills. He would train like he played and pushed players around him to get better. Kohli was demanding but he is one of those players you want in your team because he has your back and that is important in team sports. I could sense a difference in the Indian team I played against in 2014/15, my last full Aussie summer before I retired from international cricket the following November. They were competitive and confident they could beat us at home and while they didn’t do it that summer, won 2-0 by Australia over four Tests, that was the last time the Aussies have won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. I had a well-publicised personal rivalry with Kohli. We had many interactions on the field and I enjoyed it,” recalled Johnson.
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