Virat Kohli is a clever player, don’t want to engage with him on the field: Matthew Wade

Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade on Tuesday (June 9) said that India skipper Virat Kohli is a clever player and it is not wise to engage with him on the field as he only gets the better out of him.

It may be recalled that India, under Kohli in the 2018/19 series, created history by becoming the first Asian team to beat Australia in a Test series in their own backyard. Wade was not part of the Australia squad which tasted defeat in that series.

The Australian wicketkeeper said that some Indian players thrive off confrontation energy on the field and and use it in favour of their team.

“I`ll go out and play the way I like to play. We certainly don`t go out chasing it. If it comes our way then you deal with it out on the field,” Wade told reporters via video conference as per ESPNcricinfo.

“Virat is very clever in the way he uses his words or his body language, so they (India) use it as an advantage. To be honest I don`t want to engage too much into that, I know they thrive off that energy which comes from two (confronting) players. They are probably as good at doing that as anyone in the world at the moment, so it`s something I might stay away from this time,” he added.

Talking about the prospect of playing matches in empty stadiums due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Wade said that players don`t mind it once the game begins but they will defintiely feel the change while walking out towards the field.

“It`s just the atmosphere and buzz it gives you as a player. To play at Edgbaston with that crowd going in the first Ashes Test is obviously a lot different than playing Bellerive Oval in front of not a lot of people, so it`s just the feeling, the energy you get off the crowd,” Wade said.

“The actual skill – bat versus ball – is pretty much exactly the same. I didn`t play (versus New Zealand in SCG ODI) and was only running drinks, but I spoke to the players out there and they said walking out to play was a weird feeling, but once a ball was bowled, it felt like a normal game of cricket which we are used to playing. Guys have played hundreds of games of cricket in front of nobody. So they are used to that,” he added.