Former Australia pacer Geoff Lawson believes that India batter Virat Kohli will be playing the 'villain' on the upcoming India tour of Australia. India is scheduled to play five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar trophy from November in Australia.

"Virat Kohli will play the faux villain to Jasprit Bumrah's likeable nature. Bumrah has the fast bowler privilege of [spending] half a life at fine leg which gives him the ideal chance to interact with the crowd, winning smiles and hearts while Kohli will lurk in the infield appealing vociferously, fielding magnificently and engaging verbally with any Australian player so inclined to conversation, and there will be one or two of those," Lawson told while talking to Mid-day.

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"Aussie crowds love a competitor like Kohli, they may give him some grief if he plays the antagonist but you can guarantee that if he makes 50s and 100s he will be loudly applauded by the fans. He has shown a liking for Australian conditions ever since his first tour 13 years ago. Bounce and pace suited his two-footed game but the question in 2024 is whether he still has the razor sharpness to best Australia’s attack on their home surfaces. I wouldn't count him out," he added.

It was in Australia back in 2024 when Kohli first took over India's Test captaincy and hit two centuries in his first Test as skipper.

Kohli went on to lead India in 68 Tests and won 40 of them - the most for India and fourth highest overall. Under Kohli, India became the first team to beat Australia in Australia in 2018 Test series.&nbsp;India again beat Australia two years later for the consecutive series win.

Virat has never lost a Test series against Australia as skipper - a rare feat and an incredible one as well.

Former Australia pacer Geoff Lawson believes that India batter Virat Kohli will be playing the 'villain' on the upcoming India tour of Australia. India is scheduled to play five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar trophy from November in Australia.

Former Australia pacer Geoff Lawson believes that India batter Virat Kohli will be playing the 'villain' on the upcoming India tour of Australia. India is scheduled to play five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar trophy from November in Australia. "Virat Kohli will play the faux villain to Jasprit Bumrah's likeable nature. Bumrah has the fast bowler privilege of [spending] half a life at fine leg which gives him the ideal chance to interact with the crowd, winning smiles and hearts while Kohli will lurk in the infield appealing vociferously, fielding magnificently and engaging verbally with any Australian player so inclined to conversation, and there will be one or two of those," Lawson told while talking to Mid-day. Also Read: West Indies beat South Africa in third T20I to complete 3-0 series sweep "Aussie crowds love a competitor like Kohli, they may give him some grief if he plays the antagonist but you can guarantee that if he makes 50s and 100s he will be loudly applauded by the fans. He has shown a liking for Australian conditions ever since his first tour 13 years ago. Bounce and pace suited his two-footed game but the question in 2024 is whether he still has the razor sharpness to best Australia’s attack on their home surfaces. I wouldn't count him out," he added. It was in Australia back in 2024 when Kohli first took over India's Test captaincy and hit two centuries in his first Test as skipper. Kohli went on to lead India in 68 Tests and won 40 of them - the most for India and fourth highest overall. Under Kohli, India became the first team to beat Australia in Australia in 2018 Test series. India again beat Australia two years later for the consecutive series win. Virat has never lost a Test series against Australia as skipper - a rare feat and an incredible one as well.

'Villain to Jasprit Bumrah,' Former Australia pacer on Virat Kohli's role in upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy

Former Aussie great Geoff Lawson didn’t mince his words while questioning Daniel Vettori’s role in the team as&nbsp;Australia got humiliated in the first two Tests against India, going down in both matches inside three days by huge margins. Vettori, regarded as one of the best left-arm spinners ever, is travelling with the team as the assistant coach. Geoff, while speaking with SEN Radio recently, came down hard on the New Zealander saying if the Australian batters are failing so much again the spin and their spinners are struggling to pick Indian wickets on regular intervals, then what is Vettori there for.

Off the 40 Australian wickets that have fallen across four innings, 32 out of those have gone to spinners. In the first and even in the second Test, returning star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja produced match-winning spells including his career-best of seven for 42 in the second innings of Delhi Test.

Already upset with Australia’s woeful performance on this tour, Lawson pinpointed towards Vettori, whom he doesn’t think have done enough to bail Australia out of trouble.

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"The man who's probably not copping as much as he should is Daniel Vettori, who is one of the great left-arm orthodox bowlers in the world, but he should be advising on how we're going to bowl and how we're going to play against that sort of bowling," Lawson said on SEN Radio lately.

Urging the former Kiwi captain to provide vital inputs on how to tackle the spin web laid by the Indian trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar, Dawson said, "He seems to have escaped a bit of attention here because when I see shots of the dressing room I think, 'What's Vettori's input here, he's the man who was a great slow ball'. He should perhaps be having more input than most."

Meanwhile, having already lost the Border-Gavaskar series 0-2, Australia still has the spot in the final of the World Test Championship to play for. For them to be the sure-starter for June 7th event at the Oval in London, they have to avoid suffering a series whitewash in addition to hoping the New Zealand doesn’t face slump against Sri Lanka in their home two-match Test series.

The third Test will begin on March 1st at the Holkar stadium in Indore.

Former Aussie great Geoff Lawson didn’t mince his words while questioning Daniel Vettori’s role in the team as Australia got humiliated in the first two Tests against India, going down in both matches inside three days by huge margins.

Former Aussie great Geoff Lawson didn’t mince his words while questioning Daniel Vettori’s role in the team as Australia got humiliated in the first two Tests against India, going down in both matches inside three days by huge margins. Vettori, regarded as one of the best left-arm spinners ever, is travelling with the team as the assistant coach. Geoff, while speaking with SEN Radio recently, came down hard on the New Zealander saying if the Australian batters are failing so much again the spin and their spinners are struggling to pick Indian wickets on regular intervals, then what is Vettori there for. Off the 40 Australian wickets that have fallen across four innings, 32 out of those have gone to spinners. In the first and even in the second Test, returning star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja produced match-winning spells including his career-best of seven for 42 in the second innings of Delhi Test. Already upset with Australia’s woeful performance on this tour, Lawson pinpointed towards Vettori, whom he doesn’t think have done enough to bail Australia out of trouble. ALSO READ: Ben Stokes hints at cutting short IPL 2023 stint with CSK to prepare for home Ashes "The man who's probably not copping as much as he should is Daniel Vettori, who is one of the great left-arm orthodox bowlers in the world, but he should be advising on how we're going to bowl and how we're going to play against that sort of bowling," Lawson said on SEN Radio lately. Urging the former Kiwi captain to provide vital inputs on how to tackle the spin web laid by the Indian trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar, Dawson said, "He seems to have escaped a bit of attention here because when I see shots of the dressing room I think, 'What's Vettori's input here, he's the man who was a great slow ball'. He should perhaps be having more input than most." Meanwhile, having already lost the Border-Gavaskar series 0-2, Australia still has the spot in the final of the World Test Championship to play for. For them to be the sure-starter for June 7th event at the Oval in London, they have to avoid suffering a series whitewash in addition to hoping the New Zealand doesn’t face slump against Sri Lanka in their home two-match Test series. The third Test will begin on March 1st at the Holkar stadium in Indore.

IND vs AUS: Former Aussie great comes down hard on Daniel Vettori, questions his role in the team

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'Villain to Jasprit Bumrah,' Former Australia pacer on Virat Kohli's role in upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy

IND vs AUS: Former Aussie great comes down hard on Daniel Vettori, questions his role in the team