Will be amazing to see Virat Kohli trying to rev up empty seats: Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon, the Australian off-spinner, has heaped praises on Virat Kohli, saying that the Indian skipper is flexible enough to any situation. But the 32-year-old is also curious to see how Virat ‘revs up’ the empty stands if India’s tour of Australia takes place later this year. Due to the massive coronavirus pandemic over the last few weeks, the tour has come under the clouds.

In case India’s series, scheduled to start in October, takes places, there’s a chance of it being played behind closed doors. For the time being, India are set to play four Tests, three ODIs and as many T20Is until January 2021. Last time around in 2018-19, India, captained by Kohli, won the three-match ODI and four-match Test series even as the T20I series was tied 1-1.

Kohli is a superstar, says Nathan Lyon

Lyon called Virat a ‘superstar’ and also sounded excited about the Delhi-born talent playing in the series. “He’s probably good enough to adapt to any scenario,” Lyon was quoted as saying on India Today on Tuesday, April 14.

“But I was talking to Mitch Starc the other day and we actually said that if we are playing with no crowd, it’ll be quite amazing to see Virat trying to rev up the (empty) seats. It’s going to be a little bit different, but Virat is a superstar. He’ll be able to adapt to any climate that we’re able to play in,” he stated.

Lyon, who plays for New South Wales in domestic cricket, drew the parallels India’s series against the Aussies to the high-profile Ashes. Referring to Team India a ‘powerhouse’, Lyon is waiting for them to come to Australia.

“I’m excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it’s up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. They’re an absolute powerhouse of the cricket world, and to have those guys out here is going to be fantastic,” the tweaker added.

Cricket in Australia came to a halt around a month ago after their home ODI against New Zealand was called off midway. The opening game, which the hosts won, was played behind closed at the Sydney Cricket Ground.