When it comes to taking care of Virat Kohli in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series, the legendary fast bowler from Australia, Jeff Thomson, had some straightforward advice for Pat Cummins and the rest of the Australian team.
In a recent exchange, Thompson stated that Kohli will play a significant role in determining the outcome of the Test series for India, and that the Australian bowlers should make it their top priority to get him out of the game.
The illustrious pacer continued by saying that in order for Australian bowlers to dismiss Kohli for a low score, they will have to force him out of his comfort zone.
“Nobody else’s experience will be any different. Bowling to Virat is the same as bowling to anyone else if you want to score runs. You make an effort to restrain him and make him feel uncomfortable. It will be difficult to keep him quiet because he has such a wide range of shots, so it is important that you prevent him from scoring runs.
Make him take more risk. It is easier to say than to do, but you should get him out of his comfort zone. Bowlers with skill will have a greater opportunity to do so.
Great batsmen like Viv Richards, Greg Chappell, and Sunny Gavaskar can be defeated with bowling like this “On the show Backstage with Boria, he made the statement.
Virat Kohli has made a sensational return to form in one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals, but he has not scored a century in a test match since November 2019, when he slammed a century against Bangladesh in a day-night test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In ODIs and T20Is, Kohli has been in red-hot form.
“You can’t take a step back. You have to make use of your brain. It’s a war of wills between you and him in your head (Virat). Whoever gives up first will be at a disadvantage. To be successful, you need to have a greater mental game than he does. Competent players, both at bat and in the bowling alley, figure that out.
They have to come up with Plan B or Plan C and then see what the outcome is. On some days, it won’t work, but as long as you know you gave it your all and did not bowl too much garbage, which would allow him to score easy runs, all you can do is know that you gave it your best effort “added Jeff Thomson.
Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has not competed for the Indian national team since the Twenty20 Internationals that were played at home against Australia in September of the previous year. Bumrah was forced to withdraw from the Twenty20 World Cup because of a stress fracture in his back.
In addition, the most recent test match that he competed in was in Birmingham in July of 2022. It is quite unlikely that the 29-year-old fast bowler will be available for the first Test, but it is anticipated that he will be back for the second Test.
When discussing Jasprit Bumra, Thomson made the following statement: “Now, he needs to prioritise the game formats in which he wants to participate. Whether or not he is interested in playing cricket with a white ball, test cricket, or both.
It would have been very difficult for me to play test matches if I was playing at this time because in the shortened version of the game, you receive a significant amount of money. In those days, there was no need for us to concern ourselves with financial matters because there was no money. Now a great amount of money is made from it.
You are responsible for determining how long I will continue to play for. In terms of the amount of work you have to do and the roles you have to play, I believe you need to be more crafty. You will be selected if you are good enough for the job.”
India and Australia will begin their Border-Gavaskar Test series against each other on February 9 in Nagpur. The series will consist of four matches.
A victory in this series by a score of 4-0 or 3-1 is very important for India because it will increase their chances of advancing to the final of the World Test Championship.
