AUS vs IND: Steve Smith asks Virat Kohli to predict the winner of Test series; Indian skipper responds

On the eve of the first Pink-ball Test between two cricketing superpowers India and Australia, the top two Test batsmen in ICC rankings, Steve Smith and the Indian skipper Virat Kohli, were involved in a candid interaction where they discussed life, their personal and professional experiences along with opening up on the upcoming highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the two nations.

During the interaction, Smith asked Virat to make some predictions regarding who would score more runs, take more wickets and whether India would be able to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the Australia tour of 2018-19, India, under the leadership of Virat Kohli, had scripted history by winning their first Test series on Australian soil by 2-1.

While predicting who will win the four-match Test series, the 32-year-old made a politically correct statement as he said that though India would love to win the series as they had a good outing last time, it would be tough as now Australia will have a better and stronger squad due to the presence of Smith and David Warner.

Last time, David Warner and Smith were not a part of the Test squad against India as they were completing their one-year ban from the game due to the ball-tampering scandal.

‘We would love to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Last time around it was a great series for us. I know you and David Warner did not play, but we still faced a deadly bowling attack. With Australia now having a stronger squad, it will give us a chance to test ourselves even more,” Kohli said in a video shared on Cricket Australia official Twitter handle.

Kohli excited to see Ajinkya Rahane lead the Test team

Further, though the Indian skipper didn’t name the batsman who can score the most number of runs in the series, Kohli reckoned that he is quite excited to see Ajinkya Rahane don the captaincy hat in the last three Tests against Australia. Also, he believes that Hanuma Vihari is the player to watch out for as he has shown promise and character over the years.

“I am excited to see Jinx (Ajinkya Rahane) go as he would lead the side and is someone who loves the added responsibility. He has played well in the past. I think it’s his time to really step-up and I think he will really relish the opportunity. But one guy I am really looking forward to seeing bat here is Hanuma Vihari. Hanuma Vihari is quite a solid player and quite exciting and I am hoping good things from him,” Kohli added.

Ahead of the Vodafone Test Series, @stevesmith49 and @imVkohli took the time to interview each other in a special Q&A and go in-depth on their cricketing journey so far.

Enjoy! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/7tpcLD6OM2

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) December 16, 2020