Dean Jones did not agree with Michael Clarke’s comments that Australian players went quiet on India captain Virat Kohli and other players during the 2018-19 series down under to protect their Indian Premier League (IPL) contracts. Dean Jones, while rubbishing the claims by former Australia captain, said that the team did what they used to do against the likes of Viv Richards, Javed Miandad or Martin Crowe. Dean Jones, in an interview with Nikhil Naz on SportScreen’s YouTube channel, said that players like Virat Kohli enjoy being confronted in the middle because that is what gets them going.

“I will tell you the reason why they went silent to him (Virat Kohli). We went silent to Viv Richards, we went silent to Javed Miandad, we go silent to Martin Crowe when he comes to bat and there is a reason for it,” Jones said.

“We know that you don’t upset the bear. You don’t upset Virat Kohli and you don’t upset a MS Dhoni and you don’t upset certain players because this is what they love. They want that confrontation, so don’t give them any oxygen,” Jones added.

Michael Clarke had earlier said that he felt Australia were too scared to sledge Kohli or the other Indian players because they had to play with them in April (in the IPL).

Dean Jones further said that being nice to certain players will not guarantee any player an IPL contract.

“I find that as a bit rubbish. You upset Virat Kohli and he won’t pick you? Is Virat going to stop you from playing? It actually comes down the coaches and the list managers who they pick,” Jones concluded.