Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly reflects on Virat Kohli’s ‘aura’ ahead of One Day series

Cooper Connolly remembers the aura of Virat Kohli the first time he ever stepped onto the same field as the Indian champion.

It was in the UAE at last year’s Champions Trophy and the West Australian young gun said he had looked up to the World Cup-winning megastar.

Kohli’s most recent appearance in Australia was highly-anticipated and he made a famous century during The West Test. But the rest of his Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour was clouded in controversy, including a series of blow-ups between the veteran and Australian debutant Sam Konstas.

Sharma — who led the team in that series — also came under fire for his handling of several dropped catches by young teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal during the heated Melbourne Test.

The pair have both now retired from Test and Twenty20 international cricket, but have their eyes on the next 50-over World Cup, to be played in Africa in 2027.

Named in Australia’s 50-over squad for the one-day series which begins in Perth next Sunday, Connolly is in the mix to take on Kohli again.

“It’s exciting, they’re two world-class players. I’ve played them both before and there’s a bit of aura about them. You just think ‘these guys have played a lot of cricket’ and they have got that strut about them,” he said.

“They own this game, pretty much.

“It’s exciting, there will be a lot of fans here to watch those two go about it pretty much and we’re excited to play some good cricket. They’re bringing over a pretty strong squad, but hopefully we can win the series.

“It would be an honour, I’ve obviously looked up to Virat, he’s a nice player. I haven’t had much communication with him, but it’d be an honour to share the field one last time with him.”

Around 40,000 tickets have already been sold for the match, which kicks off a bumper summer of cricket and is the runway into the blockbuster Ashes series.

The one-day international will be Connolly’s second game for Australia at his home stadium. In the first, he broke his thumb and retired hurt on just seven.

“It wasn’t ideal to be honest, but to walk out there and get a nice welcome walking out to the ground was something special, I’ll never forget that,” he said.

“Especially being a local boy it’s something you dream of. It was a moment almost like the Big Bash final, I just embraced it, took it in for five or 10 seconds and just enjoyed the moment.”

Connolly made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in February and said he was keen to play some Sheffield Shield cricket for WA after the white-ball series to continue pushing his case for a recall.

The 22-year-old averages 45 with the bat in first-class cricket.

He also played two matches for Australia A against a star-studded India A side in Lucknow last month and scored 70 in the first match before battling in the second.

“Always keen to to play for WA as well. It’s home, it’s where I’ve grown up. I love to put on the baggy black and play with some of my close mates I’ve gained connections with over the last couple of years,” he said.