We will pick right time to rile Kohli, says Paine
Gavaskar
: Australia skipper Tim Paine says his bowlers won’t shy away from having a go at India captain Virat Kohli but will pick their moments carefully.
The Australian team is in the middle of cultural transformation following the ball tampering scandal that brought the focus on team’s ethics and values that included unbridled aggression resulting in sledging. Coach Justin Langer has stressed on the need for the team to be elite in values, which includes being humble and offering handshake to opposition.
Some former cricketers like Michael Clarke have hit out at this transformation saying that it takes away the traditional aggression from Australian cricket.
“It’s been received well, I haven’t heard otherwise,” Paine told cricket.com.au of the handshake idea. “I just think it’s a bit of a no-brainer, just a show of sportsmanship. It doesn’t mean we’ll be the nicest team in the world to play against by any stretch of the imagination.
Paine said they’ll be calculative against Kohli.
“He’s certainly someone who, from what I’ve seen, enjoys getting into that sort of stuff. We’ll just play it by ear; if there’s a time when we think we need to have a word with him, I’m sure we will. If there’s other times when we feel like we’re bowling well against him and are troubling him, then
SYDNEY
you don’t have to do it,” Paine said of Kohli. “It’s just about picking your time and picking your moment and doing what the team requires.”
Kohli has toured Australia twice earlier and has been successful with the bat. In 2014-15, he scored 692 runs, the most by an Indian batsman in Australia.
But Paine feels Australia have enough firepower in the pace attack to trouble India’s talismanic captain although he cautioned them against being too emotional that can disorientate them. “I think our fast bowling attack, if they play purely on skill, they’re going to trouble him,” Paine added. “At times when we get too emotional, we can lose our way a little bit. So it’s a really fine line.
“There’s going to be times when they’re going to get a bit fiery, I’m sure. But we need to be mindful of keeping ourselves calm enough so we can execute our skills as well,” he added.
Paine said a one-on-one contest with Kohli is okay as long as it doesn’t go over the top.
“I think it’s important that guys play the way that suits them. If you’re someone who likes to get into a contest one-on-one with someone like Virat, then go for your life,” he said.
“But I don’t think it needs to be over the top and I don’t think guys who aren’t normally like that need to start doing it.”