Former India captain Virat Kohli shared his opinions on the India-Australia rivalry ahead of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final which will be played at the Oval from June 7-11 with a reserve day on June 12.
While Australia is making its first appearance in the ICC World Test Championship Final, India is playing for the second straight time after their maiden appearance in the inaugural edition in 2021, losing to New Zealand in Southampton.
Ahead of the Final, Virat Kohli highlighted the intense rivalry between India and Australia has mellowed down a bit after India started consistently winning aboard, pointing at the twin series victories that the Test side achieved Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
India won their first-ever series in Australia in 2019 under the direction of Virat Kohli. India attacked an Australian team that was missing Steve Smith and David Warner head-on and took advantage of their opportunities to take the 4-Test series 2-1.
The Rivalry Between India And Australia Was Intense Initially, But Has Turned To Respect: Virat Kohli
Two years later, India produced a spectacular come-from-behind triumph without their key players who were forced to withdraw one after the other due to injuries. India lost the Test in Adelaide after being bowled out for 36 runs, but they recovered to take the series 2-1 thanks to stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Notably, when things heated up during a home Test series in 2017, Virat Kohli slammed Australian players for their lack of respect and sportsmanship.
“The rivalry between India and Australia, in the early days, used to be a lot intense. There used to be a tense environment. But after we won 2 series in Australia, the rivalry has turned into respect. We can’t be taken lightly as a Test team. We can see the respect the oppositions have for us. They expect us to give a close fight even in their conditions. We can’t be taken lightly anymore,” Virat Kohli told Star Sports from London.
“There used to be tension in the air in the past. But that’s not there now. You have your presence now, there’s standing on level terms now,” he added.
In preparation for the World Test Championship final, India had a training camp there. One of the team’s first members to come to the UK to start getting ready for the summit match against Australia, which will be contested at the Oval in London from June 7 to 11, was Virat Kohli.