Virat Kohli reacts after being dismissed by Josh Hazlewood (Crickt Australia)Virat Kohli said one of the reasons there has been an uncharacteristic show of camaraderie between Indian and Australia players in the ongoing series is down to how both sets of players have reacted to the pandemic-induced lockdown and how everybody is ‘just grateful for the opportunity to be back on the field’.
Speaking ahead of the opening match of the Test series in Adelaide on Thursday, the Indian skipper said during a virtual media conference: “There’s going to be tension, there’s going to be stress, there’s going to be emotions flaring every now and then, but I don’t foresee anything getting personal anymore.”
“I think this year has made people realise a lot of things which might not have been necessary in the past, where you hold grudges or you have unnecessary tensions between teams or individuals, which is absolutely pointless,” he said.
The level of friendliness seen between the players in the recent limited-overs series took commentators by surprise. Cameron Green said he was taken aback by how friendly KL Rahul was from behind the stumps.
Kohli said, “It could be a combination of playing a lot of IPL cricket together, Australia changing their approach to an extent and also just the way things have panned out this year.
“Everyone is just grateful for the opportunity to be back on the field.”