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‘Don’t worry about Virat’: Marcus Stoinis confident about India captain being ‘110…

With Virat Kohli set to return from Australia after the first of the four Tests, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis reckons the India captain will be no less than ‘110 percent motivated’ as long as he’s there. India play Australia in three ODIs and three T20Is, before beginning their defence of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which they retained with a 2-1 win in 2018/19.

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In the seven matches that he will play, Stoinis, supporting Kohli’s move to return to wife Anushka Sharma for the birth of the couple’s first child, expects the India skipper to hit the ground running.

“Don’t worry about Virat, he’s up for every single game that he’s playing. Yeah, maybe there will be extra motivation, but I don’t think there’s any extra motivation than 110%. So let’s see. I am sure he will be ready to go. He is getting home for the birth of his kid, which is the right decision in my opinion. So I am sure he will be extra motivated,” Stoinis said during a press interaction.

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Stoinis heads into the limited-overs series on the back of a good IPL 2020, where he scored 352 runs and took 13 wickets, playing a crucial role in Delhi Capitals’ road to the final. The all-rounder is hoping Australia can get Kohli without the India captain inflicting much damage. Kohli hit a century the last time India played an ODI series in Australia, helping the team to a 2-1 triumph and Stoinis is hoping his team can prevent something similar from happening.

“We’ve definitely got our strategies, we’ve had things that have worked in the past, and at other times the same plans haven’t worked and he’s made some runs. Obviously he is a great player, and to all these good players, you do what you want to do, you have your plans, and on the day, you get extra competitive and you hope it all falls in your side of the court,” Stoinis explained.

Source: HindustanTimes