Australia would be playing an ODI series in India, next month. (Source: AP)
Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey believes that Virat Kohli’s way of leading the side is similar to Ricky Ponting, in terms of aggression. “Kohli has been brilliant. I like the way he captains. I like his aggressive nature and his will to win. He had this desire to push his team as far as he could. He set very high standards during training and in the game. I do see some similarities with Ponting. The will to win, that competitiveness,” Hussey told PTI during an interaction.
Australia would be playing an ODI series in India, next month and according to Hussey, the series will be competitive. “It will be a good series hopefully. They play their one-day cricket well. They have some good players and have won some good (ODI) series here over the years, though not in the Tests. The key will be to not rely on any one player. It is not one person that is the key. Everyone needs to know what their job is and perform as well as they can,” said Hussey.
He feels that Team India’s confidence will be really high after whitewashing Sri Lanka 3-0 in the Test series, but an ODI series against Australia will be a different challenge for the hosts. “I am sure their confidence will be high after the Sri Lanka series. They also have an excellent limited-overs team. However, an ODI series against Australia is different,” he said.
Currently, Hussey is a part of the commentary team in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League second season. He also expressed his views about the Australia captain Steve Smith, “Smith has been brilliant. He reads the game well. It obviously agreed with his own batting. Since he has been captain, his form has been incredible as well. He has been an excellent captain as well,” the former CSK player said.
He reserved special praise for Washington Sundar, saying that the youngster is very talented, “Sundar is talented, looks a very good player and KB Arun Karthik is a nice player too, bats very well. The TNPL is bringing to the fore some good cricketers, who can go on to play in the IPL and for India too.”
Hussey is also very excited to see Chennai Super Kings’ comeback for the next year’s IPL, he said, “I am very excited about CSK being back. I have great memories (of CSK) as a player. Love the franchise. There will be challenges with the team coming back after two years out.”
On being asked if he is interested in coaching CSK, next year, he said, “I loved playing for the team. I have great friendships here and a strong rapport with CSK. If there is an opportunity, I would be very interested, for sure.”
