Indian superstar Virat Kohli has opened up on Australia’s “hostile” crowds ahead of his farewell tour down under, declaring the vocal opposition brought out the best in him.
The 36-year-old, who has retired from Tests and T20Is, headlines a talented Indian squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia, which gets underway at Perth Stadium on Sunday.
Kohli has been one of the most successful touring batters on Australian soil in the sport’s history, hitting 12 hundreds across formats and winning the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2018/19.
“It’s always lovely to be back in Australia, a place I have really enjoyed my cricket,” he told Fox Cricket on Sunday afternoon.
“Hard-fought cricket over so many years, so many battles.
“Eventually what I realised through the course of that journey was if you play your cricket competitive enough, hard enough, even if you’re in the face of the opposition, you’ll gain their respect after a certain point of time.
“That’s what I experienced coming here and playing in this country.”
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Kohli infamously flipped the bird at the Sydney crowd during his maiden Test tour of Australia in 2011/12, while he got into a heated confrontation with rival captain Tim Paine during the 2018 Perth Test.
Even at the start of this year, Kohli was filmed taunting the SCG crowd during January’s New Year’s Test by emptying his pockets, an apparent reference to the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
“Growing up watching cricket as a kid, when we used to wake up early in the morning and watch Test cricket in Australia, you’d see the ball flying off the pitch and the opposition in your face,” Kohli recalled.
“And I used to feel like, ‘Wow, if I’m able to step up in these conditions and against this opposition, that would be something that I could be really proud of as a cricketer.’ That’s the motivation that was set out for me early on, watching all the greats of our game from either side.”
From an early age, Kohli recognised how Australian cricketers relied on intimidation to get under the skin of their opposition, something he drew inspiration from.
“They were in your face all the time, trying to be intimidating and take the game on straight away. That was something that really inspired me to come here and try to do the same,” he explained.
“That really shaped me as a cricketer and as a person as well. It really tests your mental strength and resilience, because once you start copping it from the crowd, you can’t escape. You’ve got to come back every day.”
Kohli also revealed that former England batter Kevin Pietersen had given him some advice about touring Australia early in his career.
“He said, ‘You’d feel like they’re at you the whole time, but at the back of their mind and in their hearts, they really appreciate you standing up and playing that kind of cricket. So, don’t take it personally, don’t take it to heart,’” Kohi recalled.
“If you just go out there and play competitive cricket, you will realise how good you can be as a cricketer and you will realise over a long period of time that really helped you shape your whole make-up and your mental set-up as a player.
“I have nothing but gratitude for having experienced all those moments here, and the crowd being at me regularly really brought out the best from me.
“I had no option but to turn up and give 120 percent, otherwise there was no chance I was going to perform in this country and in those hostile conditions.”
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