What’s the story?
Former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey backed an out-of-form Virat Kohli to come good at the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy event in England claiming that the Indian skipper was too good a player to be kept silent for long.
"He (Kohli) is a class player and anyone who wants to write him off in this tournament will probably have to eat humble pie! You can't keep a gun player down for long and I am sure he will be very determined to play well in England and show the world his class again," Hussey told PTI during an interaction ahead of the ICC event.
As for his favourites for the eight-team tournament, Hussey, who turned 42 today, backed Australia to have a good run, especially if the in-form duo of skipper Steven Smith and IPL Orange Cap winner David Warner can carry forward their momentum to England as well.
"I think Australia has a great chance. The team looks strong but it is a very tough competition to win as all the teams are very good and you can't really afford any slip-ups along the way,” the West Australian said. "They (Smith and Warner) are both crucial to Australia's chances, they always are. It is good that they have been playing cricket and are in good form leading into the tournament."
In case you didn’t know...
Heading into the much awaited four-Test Border-Gavaskar home series against Australia on the back of scoring a double century each in every one of the four preceding Test series, Kohli had a miserable run against Steven Smith’s side, scoring just 46 runs from 3 Test matches.
The shoulder injury he picked up during the Ranchi Test kept him out of the initial stages of the 2017 IPL and even on his return to the side, Kohli was unable to inspire the Royal Challengers Bangalore side who finished bottom of the points table with the skipper managing a respectable return of 308 runs from 10 matches.
The performance was underwhelming considering the high standards Kohli has set for himself over the years but Hussey is confident that the 28-year-old will regain top form in England.
The details
Averaging just 13.5 over 10 Test innings and 18 in 4 ODIs, England has not been a happy hunting ground for Kohli. The critics are downplaying India’s chances at the Champions Trophy event citing the skipper’s recent poor run.
However, Hussey feels that form goes out of the equation in a major ICC tournament such as this one and advised the Indian batsmen to wait for the ball and to play as late as possible in order to be successful in English conditions.
Extra Cover: ICC Champions Trophy: Performance analysis of the Indian squad
Mr. Cricket also emphasised on the importance of making a good start in the tournament and insisted that there is hardly room for any slip-ups from any side that wished to go all the way in the tournament.
While Hussey foresees Australia making it all the way to the summit clash, he is looking forward to either England or India as potential finalists.
What’s next?
The Indian team has already landed in England and preparations for the big tournament have already gotten underway. The Men in Blue will take on New Zealand and Bangladesh in their two warm-up matches on Sunday and Tuesday respectively before turning their attention to the main event.
They have been placed in Group B alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Extra Cover: ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Schedule: Full time-table with venue ground details, PDF download
Author’s take
Virat Kohli has time and again proven his critics wrong and more often than not it has been with a vengeance that literally blows the opposition out of the contest. The Indian cricket team fans will be hoping for something similar in England as they look to defend the title they won in 2013.
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