Steve Waugh urges Australian players to not sledge Virat Kohli during India's tour of Australia

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has urged his team to not sledge or get into a war of words with Virat Kohli during upcoming India’s tour of Australia while stating that it might end up giving “extra motivation” not just to the Indian skipper but also to his teammates.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is set to kick-start on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval followed by Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sydney Cricket Ground and the Gabba. India’s tour of Australia will commence with three-match ODI series on November 27 followed by as many T20Is before the Test series.

Sledging is not going to worry Virat Kohli: Steve Waugh

"Sledging is not going to worry Virat Kohli, it doesn't work against the great players and you're better off leaving those guys alone," Waugh said in a video posted by 'ESPNcricinfo'.

"I think any extra motivation will make them dig in more and get more runs. So you're better off not saying much to him."

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Australian Test skipper Tim Paine and his teammates were involved in a heated war of world with Kohli during India’s last tour of Australia as the visitors ended up winning their first-ever Test series Down Under.

However, Australia were without the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner, who were serving a ban for their involvement in a ball-tampering row.

"He (Kohli) is a world-class player, he would wanna be the batsman of the series. Last time, he and Smith came up against each other in India, Smith really dominated with three hundreds and Kohli didn't get many. "That would be at the back of his mind that last time he was outscored by Steve Smith," Waugh said. "So, he will want to score a lot of runs and if he does, India will have a great chance of winning."

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"He has definitely matured, he was always excitable on the field, maybe a little not in control. But now he is totally in control and he has got the team playing in his mode...," the former batsman said.

"He wants India to prove themselves away from home to justify the number one ranking. He has taken them to a level that may be they didn't get to before," he signed off.