Sledging and Australian cricket team certainly go hand and hand. The men from down under are known to get under the skin of their opposition and more often than not, they have got successful. However, the rise of Indian captain and batting stalwart Virat Kohli has forced them to change their approach. The right-handed batsman has the knack of getting charged up by verbal duels on the field and his phenomenal record against Australia is proof of that fact. Recently, Aussie wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade said that he won’t get indulged in verbal battles when India will tour Australia later this year for a four-match Test series. India vs Australia 2020-21 Schedule, Free PDF Download.

Wade, who himself is an aggressive player, said that sledging the Virat Kohli-led team might backfire and they can use that to their advantage. “They’re a hard team, they use it to their advantage very well,” Wade told reporters in a video call. Mitchell Starc Eager to Play ‘Pink-Ball Test Against India.

“Virat is very clever the way he uses his words or his body language. So they use it as an advantage now. To be honest, I don’t really want to engage too much into that,” he added.

Many on-field conversations were witnessed during India’s last tour of Australia in 2019-20. However, the visiting side didn’t seem to get affected by that as they beat the Aussies both in Tests and ODIs by the margin of 2-1.

Talking about India’s strength, Wade said: “I know that they thrive off that energy that comes between two players. They’re probably as good at doing that as anyone in the world at the moment, so it’s something I might stay away from this time.”

Not too long ago, former Australian captain Michael Clarke claimed that the Australian team ‘sucked up’ to Virat Kohli during the Test series in order to save IPL contracts. However, the likes of Tim Paine and Dean Jones rubbished Clarke’s claims and said they didn’t want to prove Kohli.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2020 08:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).