India legend and former head coach Ravi Shastri, on Tuesday, told Virat Kohli to “get in the face” of the Australian team and antagonise the opposition in a bid to change his batting fortunes in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series, which begins on Friday at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

Kohli will be the cynosure when he starts his campaign in Australia, given that the 36-year-old heads into the contest on the back of a lean form over the last four years. Since 2020, he has been averaging only 32 in Test cricket, with only two tons in 60 innings. The run comprises his tally of 93 against New Zealand earlier this month, which sparked concerns about his future in the format.

Shastri, as quoted by The West Australian, advised admitted that Kohli has "mellowed with age," but advised him to return to the antagonist role, which he relished during the early parts of his career, including the 2012/13 and the 2014/15 tour of Australia.

“You mellow with age, don’t you? But I think at the start of the Test series, you might just see (Kohli) firing again. He needs to be, I’d like to see him (like that) again,” Shastri said.

“In the face, that’s Kohli. Come Australia, he’ll get his juices going. It’s (about) how he starts off, and for Australia, it’s with Steve Smith. These guys, don’t write them off – because if they get cracking in the first two or three innings, they’ll have a good series.”

Shastri defends no practice match for India

India had a practice match scheduled in Australia ahead of the Test series, an intra-squad match against India A at the WACA, but the BCCI cancelled it owing to injury concerns. Instead, they had a three-day match simulation.

Shastri said that he would have preferred India's first-choice XI to take on an organised team in a practice match, but admitted that the management must have carefully chalked out the intra-squad game given that the players headed to Australia just a few days after the New Zealand series at home.

“It’s always, ‘how strong will the opposition be?’ That’s the first question you ask (planning a tour game),” he said.

“I prefer playing matches, even if it’s a two-day game or a three-day game. With the time India had, they might have thought of that, but at the end of the day, it’s the team management who understands best.

“They know how tired the players are – they’ve just come off a series against New Zealand, they’ve played some one-day cricket as well, so they thought this was the best preparation … time will tell.”

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