Many cricket experts wanted Virat Kohli to play a Ranji Trophy match before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy vs Australia that starts on February 9. But Kohli, who has more than 100 Tests against his name, feels he can switch formats easily.
For Kohli, there are two threats awaiting him in this series. One is Pat Cummins, the second the spin bowling.
Cummins vs Kohli
Pat Cummins will not get as friendly pace conditions in India as he gets in Australia, but being a world class bowler, he will surely cause some trouble to Virat Kohli. He is smart, disciplined, and can bowl the right lengths consistently.
In 10 innings Kohli has batted against Cummins, he has scored just 82 runs while getting dismissed by the pacer 5 times. He averages is a mere 16.40 against Cummins.
Also read: IND vs AUS 1st Test: Sanjay Bangar Exposed Virat Kohli’s Secret Weaknesses Against Nathan Lyon
Kohli vs Spin
Kohli has been seen struggling against spinners, especially leg-spinners, in the past few years. Though there are no threatening leg-spinners in the Australian camp, there is still Nathan Lyon who is highly experienced in these conditions.
Kohli’s record in Asia against spin has been far from good. In 15 innings he has played in this duration, he has been dismissed for 11 times by spin and his average being just 23.25. Hence, Aussies may be tempted to play an extra spinner, may be in form of Ashton Agar or Michael Swepson.
Virat Kohli has tackled these challenges successfully in the past and how he tackle them in this series will be key to India’s success in the series.