Wade plans silent treatment for ‘in your face’ India

Vocal Aussie veteran says removing fuel for Virat Kohli to fire up about on-field during this summer’s blockbuster Test series could be key

Fiery Australia batsman Matthew Wade says giving India the silent treatment is the best option this summer, believing Virat Kohli’s India now thrive off verbal confrontations between players.

Wade, a forthright voice on the field whose on-field chirp helped him supplant Peter Nevill behind the stumps in the 2016-17 summer, says he will likely tone it down this summer to deny Kohli and Co an advantage.

Wade has had several run-ins with India in the past, most notably during the 2017 Test series in India when he was embroiled in a heated exchange with Ravindra Jadeja that was caught on the stump mics.

The 32-year-old Tasmania was also involved in spirited clashes during last winter’s Ashes series in the UK and showed his tenacity by putting his body on the line against New Zealand’s Neil Wagner last summer.

If selected for the much-anticipated contest, Wade insists he will still “go and play the way I like to play” in the four-Test Border-Gavaskar series.

“But we don’t go out chasing it (a verbal confrontation),” Wade told reporters on Tuesday.

“If it comes our way you deal with it out on the field.

“They’re a fierce team, as hard as any team I’ve ever played against.

“They’re in your face, they’re elite fielders – which India haven’t been renowned for over a 20-year period – but they’re up and about all the time when you’re out there battling.