The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is near, and the spotlight is again on Virat Kohli, the first Indian captain to lead India to a Test series win over Australia Down Under. However, this time, he will not don the captaincy hat and will play as a pure batter, allowing him to play with more freedom.

Meanwhile, Kohli has not been at his best with the bat this year. He missed the five-match Test series against England and has played just three red-ball matches, in which he scored 157 runs without a half-century. However, Kohli has the ability to thrive under pressure, and Australia tends to get the best out of him. The Indian batting maestro has an exemplary record in Australia with 1352 runs in 13 Tests at a sublime average of 54.08, which included 6 centuries.

Former New Zealand cricketer Mike Hesson, who has worked alongside Kohli at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, feels that the Indian superstar is at a stage where his focus is just on helping his team win games, which is a big threat to the opposition.

"I think Virat Kohli is at that stage in his career where he just wants to try and win games for India. And I think that's a dangerous stage for other sides, because if he’s doing that rather than focusing on numbers, the big scores will come naturally," Hesson told Jio Cinema.

The former RCB head coach further warned Australia about Kohli, who knows when to counter-attack the opponent and can hold the innings together with his rich experience playing Down Under.

"The ability to hold a tempo in Australia is so important—being able to counterattack and knowing the right moments to do so. As mentioned, from 30 to 60 overs is a key phase. If Kohli is batting at that point, he won’t let the game drift. It’s about finding gaps, hitting gaps, getting ones and twos, and then, if they try and attack him, then he can counterattack," he added.

Virat Kohli thrives in Australian conditions

Kohli didn't score a half-century in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh but Hesson feels that he was looking in decent touch and three-match series versus New Zealand will fine tune-up him for the mega Australia series.

"He was in fine touch, and even though he didn’t get big scores against Bangladesh, he looked like he was moving well and getting into good positions. After playing in New Zealand, heading to Australia will suit him, as he thrives in those conditions. He has the game and knows the conditions very well," Hesson said.

Read Also: When AB de Villiers made Virat Kohli exclaim 'you're a freak' during KKR vs RCB in IPL 2016: 'I was ready for a single'

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