Virat Kohli likes to get into tussle, it brings out the best in him, says Josh Hazlewood

Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood believed that it was important to not get into a war of words with Indian skipper Virat Kohli while he was batting because that would only make him focus more and become more dangerous as a batsman.

Josh Hazlewood felt that getting into a banter on the field brought the best out of Virat Kohli and that is something the Australians will look to avoid when India tour Australia towards the end of 2020.

India became the first Asian side to win a Test series Down Under in 2018-2019 but Australia were without the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner as they were serving their bans after the Sandpapergate episode. However, this time around they will be well prepared and it promises to be a cracker of a contest.

"I think we try to probably stay clear of engagement, obviously. I think that was fully evident throughout the series. I think he likes to get in that tussle and it probably brings out the best in him, especially when he's batting, that was always a no-go-zone for the bowlers," Josh Hazlewood said on the Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

Virat Kohli had a very disappointing tour of New Zealand and Australia would like to take inspiration from the way New Zealand avoided any banter with Kohli and would hope for a similar slump in his form.

Australian batsman David Warner also spoke about how important it was to avoid any kind of unnecessary interaction with Virat Kohli as he felt that they were similar players and that both of them would strike their best form if someone instigates them.

“I think Virat is quite similar, if you go a little bit at Virat he comes out harder with the bat and he plays amazing. We have seen that time and time again. There is no point in actually trying to poke the bear because at the end of the day if you do that it just fires up the person a bit more,” David Warner told India Today.