With Virat Kohli set to return home after the first Test in Adelaide, Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis believes the India captain will be no less than ‘110 percent motivated’ as long as he’s there.
India will lock horns against Australia in three ODIs and three T20Is, before beginning their defense of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which they retained with a 2-1 win on Australian soil in 2018/19.
Kohli will play seven matches in the upcoming series, including all ODIs and T20Is, and Stoinis expects Virat to hit the ground running. He also backed Kohli’s decision to return to wife Anushka Sharma for the birth of the couple’s first child.
“Don’t worry about Virat, he’s up for every single game that he’s playing. Yeah, maybe there will be extra motivation, but I don’t think there’s any extra motivation than 110%. So let’s see. I am sure he will be ready to go. He is getting home for the birth of his kid, which is the right decision in my opinion. So I am sure he will be extra motivated,” Stoinis said during a press briefing.
Stoinis played a crucial role in Delhi Capitals’ run to its maiden IPL final, scoring 352 runs and bagging 13 wickets, in the recently-concluded season of the cash-lucrative league. He heads into the limited-overs series hoping Australia can get Kohli without the India captain inflicting much damage.
Virat Kohli had smashed a century in the third and final ODI of the 2018-19 tour and Stoinis is hopeful that his team can prevent something similar this time around.
“We have definitely got our strategies, we have had things that have worked in the past, and at other times the same plans haven’t worked and he’s made some runs. Obviously, he (Virat) is a great player, and to all these good players, you do what you want to do, you have your plans, and on the day, you get extra competitive and you hope it all falls on your side of the court,” Stoinis added.