Hyderabad: Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne has joked that he wants to bowl a bouncer to Virat Kohli in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting from November 22 in Perth. Labuschagne, who is expected to be a crucial factor for the Australian batting line-up said that he would be keen to roll his arm over in the series, but would look to bowl pace instead of usual leg-spin.
Speaking in an interview with Channel 7, Labuschagne said that he would be very keen to bowl fast-medium against Virat Kohli. Kohli, known to be a great puller of the ball, missed the majority of the Australia tour, the last time India went Down Under while the Australian didn't even debut in any format during 2018 series.
.@gradecricketer asks Marnus Labuschagne: 'Do you think the nation wants to see you bowl?'
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) October 21, 2024
And we're off to the races from there 😅 pic.twitter.com/HAQPCcUlfr
Asked if the nation wants to see him bowl, Marnus said that he can bowl around 135 kmph. This had the interviewers in split, who would not believe what Marnus had just claimed and went to question him, have you picked up any wicket while bowling pace in Test.
"I think so. Yeah, I think so. Because they sink energy. You know what are we going to get here? You know? Are you going to get the number three of Australia rolling in, bowling bouncers to VIrat Kohli? People want to see that. You want to see, can you pass on his ego like, 'are you going to be ducking bouncers from Marnus?'" Marnus Labuschagne said in an interview.
"I mean, if there's rough. Not if its not there. I mean, but I'm happy to throw in whatever. Yeah, whatever needs, but you'd love to hit a little 135 bouncer. I've got that in me, I reckon. My highest recorded is 132. So 3ks. They (the Australian team) will hate I said that hate that. They all hate that," he further added.
Rohit Sharma's mens will travel to Australia in November for their five-match Test series and multiple tour games during that time. This will be India's last assignment in the World Test Championship 2025 cycle where they currently placed at the top in the points table.
