Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson has said India will adopt a more aggressive approach and redefine the way the country plays cricket under new skipper Virat Kohli starting from the fourth and final Test, beginning Jan 6.
Kohli captained India in the first Test at Brisbane and called upon an attacking mindset to counter the Australians, renowned for their tactic of “mental disintegration” of the opponents through sledging.
He entered into a full-on confrontation with Australia’s leading pacer Mitchell Johnson and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and the left-arm pacer said he expects more of the unabashed attitude from the young Indian.
“It could be quite interesting because they’re not known for that aggressive type of play,” Johnson was quoted as saying by aap.com Friday.
“But ever since I’ve seen him play cricket, I’ve always seen him pretty fiery. So he’ll definitely be an aggressive type of captain I think in the way he sets fields, and I think you’ll see a lot different to what Dhoni did.”
Johnson also noted that Kohli was a extremely competitive individual.
“He’s an interesting character. He is a fierce competitor and he really does like to get involved in it all.”
India’s previous captain Dhoni, in comparison, preferred a more composed approach and asked the teams to “tone down” the verbal barbs during his last press conference as India skipper.
But Johnson expects a change in mentality , irrespective of the opposition.
“It doesn’t matter who he plays against, he plays in your face and that is how he likes to play the game,” Johnson said.
The 33-year-old pacer said he expected the on-field chatter to continue at Sydney.
“It’s just harmless stuff, that’s out there. There’s a lot of talk out in the media at the moment as bad sledging and pretty full on stuff but it’s all pretty harmless,” the Queenslander said.
“Virat’s just been telling us how many runs he’s scored and we’ve just been saying we’re two nil up in the series so that’s pretty much it. It’s always been part of the game and always will be.”