Australian players have “polarising” opinions about India captain Virat Kohli, said Tim Paine.
Though he says Kohli is “just another player” to him, the Australia Test skipper remained upbeat about the rivalry he and his side shared with his Indian counterpart.
“With Virat, it is a funny one --- we love to hate him, but we also love to watch him bat as cricket fans,” Paine told ABC Sport.
“He certainly is polarising in that type of scenario. We love watching him bat, but we don’t like seeing him score too many runs.”
Both Kohli and Paine were involved in heated exchanges on several occasions when India toured Australia the last time, in 2018-19, with the umpires having to intervene. India, though, went on to win the four-match series 2-1, being the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia.
“When it comes to Australia and India, it’s a heated competition, and he (Kohli)’s obviously a competitive person and so am I. So yeah, there were a few occasions when we had words exchanged, but that wasn’t because he and I were the captains --- it could have been anyone.
“It’s often the best player in the rival camp that your team goes up a little bit against. There is always a bit more tension when a player is as good as he is, it’s the same when you play against England, whether it’s Joe Root or a Ben Stokes.
“The intensity goes up when the best players in the world come out to the crease,” Paine explained.
This time in the Test series, India will be able to avail Kohli’s services only in the first game as he’s due to return home for the birth of his first child. Australia, on the other hand, are set to have both David Warner and Steve Smith in their ranks, the two players who they badly missed in the 2018-19 series.
Certainly, Paine and his men are looking forward to the series. “I’m looking forward to everything, to be honest. It’s a huge series,” Paine said.
Greg’s views
Greg Chappell, who coached India from 2005-07, said Kohli is “one of the most influential players in world cricket” who is not afraid to express his opinions.
“I think he’s certainly one of the best players and one of the most influential players in world cricket at the moment. He has strong views, he’s quite happy to speak those views, he’s quite happy to put himself out there and back himself to back up his words,” Chappell said.
The 72-year-old Australian great said it augurs well for Test cricket that an influential player like Kohli enjoys playing the longest format of the game.
“He loves Test cricket and while he’s playing, India will treat Test cricket with respect because he has a big say in Indian cricket. That’s a good thing,” he said.
“If you have a captain of India who is not interested in Test cricket, that will impact the scene. Virat loves Test cricket, he champions Test cricket and while that’s happening, India will play Test cricket,” he added.
