Indian star Virat Kohli has revealed that arch-rivals Australia no longer consider India an easy opponent. After the recent exploits on the world stage in recent years, the ‘mighty’ Australians have started to ‘respect’ the Men in Blue. 

India are scheduled to visit Down Under later this year, for the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy. Rohit Sharma & Co. will tour Australia for a five-match Test series, as a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2023-25. 

Despite playing away from home, India have history in their favour, and in no way, do they head into the series as underdogs. The Asian giants have been a menacing force in red-ball cricket, being the only team to feature in both WTC finals so far. 

Senior Indian batter, Virat Kohli has revealed the perception of the Indo-Australian rivalry, ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy scheduled to commence from November 22, 2024. 

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What did Virat Kohli say about India’s rivalry against Australia ahead of BGT 2025?

Virat Kohli revealed India’s perception in the minds of Australian cricketers, ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series. The 35-year-old stated that the rivalry, which was pretty intense initially, has now turned into respect.

India recorded series wins over Australia on their previous two visits, as they hope to secure a hat-trick of wins this season. Kohli has stated that the 2-1 wins in 2019 and 2021 have changed the environment in their favour. 

Speaking on Star Sports the 35-year-old said, “The rivalry was very intense in the initial years. The environment used to be very tense. Since we have won the series in Australia twice, the rivalry has turned into respect. We are not taken lightly as a Test team. That respect is evident when we play against Australia – that is a team that has beaten us twice in our backyard back-to-back.”

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS! ⏳

With just 50 days for the 💥 action to begin down under, the stars talk about what makes it the #ToughestRivalry! 🤜🤛

Watch #AUSvINDOnStar starting NOV, 22 onwards! pic.twitter.com/ZYkVwsYFVe

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 3, 2024

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Full schedule for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25