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Virat Kohli will be key to India’s hopes of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which will see them take on Australia in five Tests.
Virat Kohli has a superb record in Australia. (Getty Images)
Batting superstar Virat Kohli has started gearing up for India’s upcoming Test series against Australia with the former captain spotted at a training session on Wednesday. The Indian team has set base in Perth, the venue of the first Test with players taking part in training sessions at the WACA Ground.
According to various reports, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal did some batting practice on Tuesday which was an optional session but the likes of Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were absent.
However, Kohli started his preparations on Wednesday with clips and pictures of him attending India’s training session being circulated on social media.
Australian media is reporting that the Indian team management is maintaining secrecy around the team’s training with outsiders not allowed to attend. A few net bowlers have been called up while even the staff at the WACA Ground has been instructed to not take videos of the practice sessions.
Kohli has been under scrutiny over his dwindling form in Test cricket having managed just two centuries in the past five years. The 35-year-old has a stellar record when playing Tests in Australia having scored 1352 runs from 13 matches at an average of 54.08 including six centuries and four fifties.
India are eyeing a hat-trick of Test series wins Down Under. The team is recuperating from their recent defeat to New Zealand at home that saw them endure a historic 0-3 whitewash.
It’s likely that the tourists will be without their captain Rohit Sharma for the first Test that starts from November 22. Should he miss the contest, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side.
For India, the series attains even more importance considering it’s their last of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle and they need to win 4-0 to qualify for the final on their own.
