India vs Australia 2020: Virat Kohli tips Marnus Labuschagne for greatness

After India’s series against Australia culminated at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Virat Kohli profusely praised Marnus Labuschagne, who made his debut against the Men In Blue in the first ODI of the same series.

The Indian skipper quipped,

He's a quality player. We were talking outside... he's very sure of what he wants to do. Again, body language, intent, he's there, he's running hard between the wickets, he wants the ball (in the field). I think he's got the right mindset to be a consistent player; to be a top player in the world for a while.

He's shown that in Test cricket, he's shown that in one-day cricket, and I'm sure if he plays T20 cricket, he'll show the same clarity there as well.

Furthermore, Kohli talked about how Labuschagne looked a complete team player and how he boasted the ability to take the game away from the opposition in a trice, courtesy his ability to retain a high level of intensity throughout.

Also, he opined that the right-hander embodied an energetic bunny, in light of the energy Labuschagne exuded over the course of the three-game series, whether it was while batting or when in the field.

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Over the past few months, Labuschagne has cast himself as one of Australia’s batting stalwarts, meaning that the pressure on David Warner and Steve Smith has been eased a touch.

After being called upon as a concussion substitute for Steve during the Ashes, the Queenslander hasn’t looked back and seems primed to morph into a vital cog in the Australian wheel across formats.

In fact, Labuschagne looked extremely accomplished in his essays on Indian shores, thereby highlighting that he possessed the requisite quality to create a significant splash on the white-ball stage too.

While he scored 46 in his first ODI innings, he breached the 50-run mark at Bengaluru, when he notched up a tidy innings of 54 off 64 deliveries.