Virat Kohli Changed Face Of Indian Cricket: Mitchell Johnson Ahead Of Border-Gavaskar Trophy

With the prestigious Border Gavaskar trophy round the corner, Indian and Australian players have pulled up their socks and are ready to showcase their best skills. The BGT is one of the deadliest and most exciting bilateral test series starting November 22 at Perth.

But before the extravaganza event, Australia's former speedster Mitchell Johnson praised former Indian captain and ace batter Virat Kohli. He said, Virat Kohli added aggression to the side and changed Indian cricket's approach.

Johnson recalled meeting Virat Kohli for the first time.

In his column for The West Australian, Ex-Australian cricketer said, "When Virat Kohli first came on the scene, I remember hearing about him before I saw him. Many were saying he was the next Sachin Tendulkar, even though we all knew Sachin could never be replaced. I was fortunate enough to play against both Indian legends in all formats and while there are some similarities, they were also very different. One of Kohli's attributes stood out early to me above all others - he was up for the fight!"

"That kind of aggressive attitude was something we had rarely seen from an Indian player at that point. We were used to giving it but didn't always get it back in return. While the occasional player from India may have been combative in moments, Kohli really made it a part of his game. He took his team with him as well so it's not an understatement to say that Kohli changed the face of Indian cricket, taking a new generation of players and showing them how to play tough cricket," he added.

Reflecting on the 2014-15 series against India, Johnson mentioned how Kohli dominated the scoring despite Australia's 2-0 win in the four-match series. Johnson also shared that he had a personal rivalry with Kohli but enjoyed their on-field interactions.