Virat Kohli’s love affair with Australia: The most Australian non-Australian cricketer

Dubai: Virat Kohli may have retired from Test cricket, but in Australia, his legend is immortal.

From Greg Chappell to David Warner, tributes have poured in for the man who stared down some of the fiercest Aussie attacks and came out swinging — not just with the bat, but with an attitude that redefined Indian cricket abroad.

Kohli’s arrival as a Test captain came in Adelaide in 2014, where he smashed twin hundreds and nearly pulled off a record chase. Though India lost, a message had been sent: Kohli’s India would fight fire with fire.

That fight burned brightest in 2018-19, when India claimed their first-ever Test series win in Australia under his captaincy. While Kohli didn’t play in the decisive fourth Test in 2021, it was his leadership that had laid the groundwork. His reign yielded 40 wins in 68 matches — India’s best — with only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh ahead on the all-time list.

Chappell, in a glowing column for ESPNcricinfo, called Kohli “the most Australian non-Australian cricketer we’ve ever seen. A snarling warrior in whites, never giving an inch.”

He added: “Where others reacted, Kohli anticipated. He saw innings before they unfolded. He lived the pressure before it arrived. Ganguly gave India a new spine. Dhoni brought ice-cold calm. But Kohli? Kohli lit the fire.”

Kohli played 30 Tests against Australia — more than against any other side — scoring 2,232 runs at 43.76 with nine hundreds. His final ton came at Perth in December 2024, a gritty unbeaten 100 that helped India avoid a series whitewash. Fittingly, it came in the country that had tested him the most.

Warner, who shared countless duels with Kohli, was equally heartfelt in his tribute. “Absolute legend of our game,” he posted. “You had to fill the shoes of some great players to ever play for India and carry the nation. Wow, did you not disappoint?”

Kohli’s retirement note marked the end of a glittering career: 123 Tests, 9,230 runs, 30 centuries, average 46.85. But beyond the numbers, it was the intensity he brought — the chest-thumping, the fire-eyed stares, the unrelenting push for excellence — that changed the way India played abroad.

He was tested, taunted, and targeted in Australia — but it became the stage where Kohli shone the brightest. And in the end, even Australia — the toughest cricketing arena of them all — tipped its hat to the man who gave as good as he got.

- With inputs from IANS