Pune, Feb 22: Indian captain Virat Kohli today (February 22) said he has a "great" friendship with Australian players but knows where to "draw the line" when it comes to competition on a cricket field.
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India and Australia are set to face off in the opening Test of the 4-match rubber in Pune from tomorrow (February 23) and Kohli said he is focused on the series, keeping the friendship aside with the Steve Smith-led side. (Likely Indian XI in 1st Test)
Ahead of the Test series, some of the Australian players, present and former, have praised the Indian superstar. When asked about this, Kohli said he did not know the reason behind this.
"I am really good friends with them (Australians). I know them really well off the field. But I know where to draw the line of friendship as well," Kohli said.
Cricketers of different nations have struck friendships at various Twenty20 tournaments including the Indian Premier League (IPL) where a host of Australians ply their trade. Kohli is the captain of IPL outfit Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) which has players from Down Under.
In IPL, Kohli has captained Australia's pace spearhead Mitchell Starc. The left-arm bowler is currently part of the Test team for India series and recently parted ways with RCB.
The right-hander, however, stated that when it comes to competition on the field, he will be a professional even against his real brother.
"When you step onto the field, I could be playing against my real brother it does not matter. So it's fine, if they had to criticise me, I would have been okay with it, it's not something coming out of my mouth. So I have no control over it. I am pretty focused and aware of what I need to do as a player on the field and what my team needs to do to win Test matches and series.
"I don't know the reason behind it (Australians praising him), there might not be any reason, I am not here to speculate. But I can say I am really great friends with these guys off the field, we really get along well. On the field we are professional enough to realise that it's a competition but off the field we are comfortable with each other," he added.
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