Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
David Warner says Australia will stay away from verbal battles with India | Australia will stay away from verbal volley – David Warner
Australian batsman David Warner is looking forward to the upcoming duel against India starting from November 27.
The Aussies have a long history of sledging and playing mind games with their opposition. However, this year Warner has said that the team would try not to engage in any kind of verbal volleys.
After last India’s Test victory, the series has urged interest in all the cricket fans. However, Virat Kohli’s exit after the first Test match, as well as injuries to Ishant and Rohit, puts pressure on the visitors. “For me, personally it’s about getting in the contest, so that’s basically when you’re out there, you’re trying to feel for something,” Warner said.
“Last summer, I was coming off the back of the England tour, so I really had to knuckle down and try and concentrate as much as I could, and try and get into a battle out there and contest with the opposition. I managed to find that in a different way and it worked, and for me, it’s about trying to find that balance again when I’m out in the middle.”
Talking about Ajinkya Rahane taking over the team’s captaincy after Kohli leaves, Warner said that his calm, collected and measured attitude will push them to perform too. “It’s like chalk and cheese with two of them two and as a player to try and engage him on the field, as we’re talking about engaging, and getting into that contest as players, we obviously got to think about how to do that especially with Ajinkya as captain. The great thing from India’s perspective is that you’ve got three if not four very good players who could captain the team at any time. With him, he’ll bring a calm and measured approach with his nature”, he added.
Initially reports suggested that Rohit Sharma will be able to return just in time for the Test matches. But now the possibility of him reaching Australia looks tricky. Warner also mentioned that Sharma’s absence is a big loss for the team India. “He’s a big piece of their team they’re going to be missing, but they’ve got great in-form guys, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, and Mayank [Agarwal],” Warner said. “These guys played in the IPL, so you’ve got guys in good touch and great talent and depth in Indian cricket to take that position of Rohit. He’s a big hole in their team up the top, but you’ve got guys who can replace him who is in a form that will do a good enough job, if not better, as we saw in India.”
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
