Waugh weighs in on Kohli sledging debate

Steve Waugh, the former Test captain who never shied away from an on-field confrontation, has suggested that Australia might need to consider provoking India skipper Virat Kohli during the upcoming Test series.

Waugh, who once bowled three consecutive bouncers at legendary West Indies leader Viv Richards and famously clashed with Caribbean quick Curtly Ambrose, believes that Kohli is such a dominant force the Australians must find a way to drag him out of his "comfort zone a bit".

Image Id: 22E5007C3D70476CBF54E2B6263BAAEF Image Caption: Waugh and Curtly Ambrose during their famous clash in 1995 // Getty

And the 51-year-old claimed that goading Kohli’s volatile nature – a practice that another former Australia Test batsman, Mike Hussey, recently counselled against – was a tactic worth considering if India’s premier batsman gets on a roll.

Quick Single: Hussey warns Aussies not to sledge Kohli

That’s because Waugh claims he has never seen a more competitive cricketer than Kohli, who has led India to the top of the world’s Test rankings.

"I wouldn’t recommend firing him up to start with, maybe that’s something you keep up your sleeve if he starts to score runs," Waugh told cricket.com.au in a recent one-on-one interview.

"Like anyone, he’s vulnerable.

"He’s under pressure.

"He’s got that massive weight of expectation on his shoulders.

"They (the Indian public) expect him to get a hundred every time he goes out to bat now, and he pretty much does.

"But there are going to be times when he has a bit of luck go against him, play a bad shot, loses concentration, maybe thinks too much about what he should be doing in the future not what he’s doing right now.

"I think the up side (to provoking Kohli) is probably more than the down side, because he gets runs against everyone.

"So you’ve probably got to try something different."

In his first Test as India captain, when filling in for the injured incumbent MS Dhoni in the opening match of India’s 2014-15 tour of Australia at Adelaide Oval, Kohli was fined 30 per cent of his match fee when he was involved in a heated clash with current Australia captain Steve Smith.

Image Id: 0658F71DD19C471EB81F166713A6ADE3 Image Caption: Kohli and Smith exchange words in Adelaide in 2014 // Getty

The pair crossed paths again at the same venue during last summer’s KFC T20 International Series, when Kohli took exception to Smith’s role as an on-field commentator when batting and gave the Australia skipper a send-off when he was dismissed.

A gesture that Smith later described as unnecessary and uncalled for.

And during the team’s most recent Test campaign in Australia two years ago, Kohli was targeted by a number of opponents including fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin on his way to posting a then personal best Test score of 169.

Waugh, who led Australia to the brink of a breakthrough Test series win in India in 2001 before the home team staged a memorable comeback in the second Test at Kolkata and went on to claim the series 2-1, admitted to being an unabashed admirer of Kohli’s aggressive and combative character.

And he claimed the manner in which Kohli plays the game and leads his team is distinctly different from many India captains to come before him, and is reminiscent of the game plan employed by Waugh himself during his tenure as Test skipper.

During which time the team won a then record 16 consecutive Test matches from October 1999 until the famous 2001 Test at Kolkata, which India won by 171 runs after being forced to follow-on.

"This is a modern-day India side," Waugh said.

"Virat Kohli is pretty much the way we play cricket – he’s very aggressive, he’s in your face, positive, backs himself, tries to keep the match moving forward.

"He’s a fierce competitor – I don’t think I’ve seen anyone like him.

"Every ball he plays as a priority, like it’s the most important ball of his life – whether he’s batting, in the field or he’s captaining.

"He’s a tough adversary because you know you’re not going to get anything from him.

"He’s just going to play it so hard.

"He’s great for Indian cricket and consequently his team play in the same vein and the same fashion – they’re in your face, they play aggressive, positive and they try to keep the game going and try and win as quick they can.

"It’s going to be a real challenge for Australia (on the upcoming four-Test Qantas Tour of India).

"They’ve got a quality batting side India, world-class spinners and they know how to win in those conditions."