Why Australians shouldn't even try sledging Virat Kohli?

So no doubt, when Virat Kohli was on his second tour to Australia, the home team was baying for his blood. It was the 2014-15 season, and the first ball Kohli faced on that tour was delivered by Mitchell Johnson, and was a bouncer that hit him hard on the badge of his helmet. Australians aren't known to be very welcoming to guest teams, but a bouncer first up to the opponents' best batsman was a rude awakening.

To be fair to the Australians, sledging generally helps them. It helps them get on the nerve of the opposition batsmen and leads to them having a lapse in concentration. A lapse in concentration can be very detrimental in Test cricket where you need to bat for hours at a stretch. But you need to know which batsmen to sledge. And more importantly, you need to know which batsman to not sledge. Steve Waugh was one. He thrived whenever the opposition tried to get under his skin. Waugh was also excellent at choosing who to target with slurs. He was a very successful Australian captain, and his ability to identify the batsmen who'll succumb under immense verbal pressure certainly must have helped. And he'd know Virat is one you should avoid.

When not on the field, he never held back on his words in the press conferences as well. He knew what the Australians thought of him, but didn't really care about it. “They were calling me a spoilt brat, I said ‘maybe that’s the way I am - I know you guys hate me and I like that." In a press conference during the series, he talked about Johnson saying, "I respect quite a few of them (Australians), but someone (Johnson) who doesn't respect me I have no reason to respect him." Perhaps it's the Delhiite in Kohli that never lets him back out of any challenge, especially on being provoked. But unlike most people in the Indian capital, Kohli had it in him to back his words with his shots.

Even he wondered why the Australians failed to understand that their tactics aren't working, “I don’t mind an argument on the field. It really excites me and brings the best out of me, so they don’t seem to be learning the lesson.”

But no they don't seem to be taking any of this advice seriously. In his first press conference before the tour, just hours after arriving in India, Aussie captain Steven Smith said his players won't be afraid to give Virat a piece of their mind. Talking to reporters in Mumbai, he said, “I think each of our individuals play the way they play and if they want to get into a battle verbally then, if that gets the best out of them, go for it. It’s all about us making sure that as individuals we’re in the right mindset to go out and succeed and if guys want to get in those kind of battles then go for it." 

No Steve, do not go for it. Going for it would only make sure you face an ultra-inspired Kohli. That is not a batsman you want your bowlers to bowl at. They'll already have a hard time bowling at the regular Kohli. Think of it Steve, they'll already be bowling at a guy who's scored four double centuries in the last seven months. And he'll be playing at home. Not that he needs home pitches, he can smash bowlers on any track in any country on the planet, but here, you guys won't even have the crowd backing you. He is leading a team that is on a roll. They haven't lost a home Test since 2012, and there is no reason to believe the streak won't continue.