Former England star bowler advises England team to avoid verbal battles with Virat Kohli

The India vs England Test series is about to take place on the 25th of January with huge expectations. The fans are eager to witness another great and intense battle between these top-ranking teams in Test matches. There will be great battles to witness in this series once again. India will be high on confidence after their historic win in Cape Town at the Newlands, being the only Asian team to win in the venue. A lot of fans and experts will be looking for an epic clash between these two heavyweights of international cricket going head to head once again. 

The one man in India who the people will want to see is none other than Virat Kohli. There is no doubt that the 35-year-old batter from Delhi has etched his name as one of the greatest of all time. Virat is not only one of the top run scorers in the world with over 25000 runs but has enjoyed playing against England a lot. He has scored 1991 runs in 28 matches against England at an average of over 40 being one of the highest run scorers for an Indian batter against England. Known for his aggressive mindset, Virat is famous for talking the talk and walking the walk channelling the same energy in his batting as he does in the verbal battles.

Graeme Swann advising the boys

Former England spinner Graeme Swann has also spoken on the matter regarding Virat’s mindset and has advised the England players on how to handle the likes of Virat on the field. The 60 Test match veteran simply said not to engage with Virat in the verbal battles and supported his statement by saying “We had been earlier told beforehand to not say anything to this bloke because he revels in a battle in the field". This was an open statement given by the former player on Sky Sports, where he doesn't want anybody in the England side to battle with him on the field.

These words shed light on how Virat handles himself on the field and what motivates him to keep performing. Virat likes to give it back to the opposition every time he plays. The aggressive nature and energy that he brings in the field goes into his batting, which causes a lot of damage to the bowlers once he is riled up and ready to play. This is great advice from Swann since he knows that Virat is always looking for a battle on the field and looks to counterattack the opposition with his bat and score runs.