England pacer Ollie Robinson said that he was looking forward to his face-off with swashbuckling Indian batter Virat Kohli during the upcoming five-match Test series between the two nations in India beginning on January 25. However, Robinson dismissed Kohli thrice in Tests when India toured England way back in 2021. And, he said that he understood the challenge of keeping Kohli quiet and wasn’t shy of having a bit of sledging in the middle if required.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo ahead of England’s tour of India, Ollie Robinson said: “You always want to play against the best players, don’t you? And you always want to get the best players out. Kohli is one of those. He’s got a big ego and I think playing on that, especially in India, where he is going to want to dominate and score runs, playing on the fact we’ve had battles in the past, is exciting.”

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Robinson further added: “I’ve actually been practicing Mohammed Shami’s dead-straight seam. He’s one of the best bowlers for India. I was looking at Ishant [Sharma] as well – he played at Sussex for a bit and he’s done really well in India for quite a while. He’s tall, similar to me.”

However, Ollie Robinson hasn’t played for England since the third Test in the Ashes last year, where he sustained a back spasm and was ruled out for the rest of the series as well. With Stuart Broad retiring, Robinson could play the first Test alongside James Anderson in the pace department.

“I prepared like I was going to be the leader of the attack for years, and probably looked too far ahead, if anything. I think now, maturing a little bit and knowing what can happen, I’m preparing like I’m playing another series and just going to do my best for England. Not looking too far ahead, not looking to be the leader of the attack or anything like that. Support Jimmy, support the spinners, and just support the team,” Ollie Robinson concluded.