India great Ravi Shastri has declared Virat Kohli “is back in his territory”, ready to reign supreme against Australia and prove his critics wrong.
For so long the king of Indian cricket, Kohli will enter the Border-Gavaskar Trophy under the spotlight after averaging only 22.72 across six Tests this year.
Kohli’s form has also dominated pre-series jousting, with India coach Gautam Gambhir taking exception to Ricky Ponting highlighting the megastar’s lack of big scores.
The 36-year-old has scored only two Test centuries in his last 60 Test innings, averaging 31.69 during that time.
But one of those tons did come against Australia last year, while Kohli’s average of 54.08 in Australia is the fifth highest of any touring player in history with 25 or more innings in the country.
“Well, the king is back in his territory,” Shastri said on the ICC Review show.
“That’s all I will tell (the doubters).
“When you’ve earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent’s) mind when you go out to bat.”
Kohli is set to potentially take on an even more important role in India’s top order come the first Test in Perth next Friday, with Rohit Sharma still at home for personal reasons.
India trained again at the WACA on Friday and while media were told they could attend, no TV cameras or recordings were permitted within the venue.
Shastri coached India to their maiden two successes in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21, before stepping down from the role.
And he said the key for Kohli was not letting emotion take over.
“Your juices are flowing, you’re charged up. It’s again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness,” he said.
“At times you are overeager to get out there and throw the first punch.
“But I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat, or in the first three innings of the series, will be extremely important.
“If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he’ll be fine.”
Shastri’s comments come after Ponting also backed Kohli to return to form in Australia, after being critical of his lead-in form.
The former Indian captain made scores of 0, 70, 1, 17, 4 and 1 in India’s first ever 3-0 loss at home to New Zealand over the past month.
“(His record) doesn’t seem right to me. That’s a concern,” Ponting said.
“There wouldn’t be anyone else playing international cricket as a top-order batsman who has only scored two Test match hundreds in five years.
“But you don’t ever question the greats of the game, and there is no doubt he is a great of the game.
“I know he loves playing against Australia and his record here is very good. If there is a time for him to turn it around it would be this series.”
