Is Fox’s poster featuring Kohli-Cummins a masterstroke of Aussie mental tactics?

Australia may be preoccupied with hosting Pakistan for a whiteball tour but their attention seems firmly locked on the upcoming BorderGavaskar Trophy against India While the fiveTest series looms large on the horizon the buildup is becoming as intense as an AustraliaIndia clash itselfEnter Fox Sports the Australian broadcaster who is doing its utmost to stir the pot As Australia played Pakistan in the third ODI at Perth Stadium the channel couldnt resist flashing promotional posters for the first Test against India over and over again just to remind everyone that the real action was about to begin But heres where things took a rather bizarre turn In a move that was both strange and yet somehow entirely predictable the poster didnrsquot feature the usual duo of captains Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma Instead they chose to feature Australian captain Cummins alongside none other than Virat KohliNow from an outsiderrsquos perspective this might seem like an innocent enough decision After all it is just a promotional poster But the drama it stirred in the Indian cricket fanbase To many it wasnrsquot just a harmless piece of marketing it was an outright snub Kohli fans who are known for their unwavering loyalty to their hero jumped at the opportunity to celebrate this subtle reminder that even though Kohli is no longer captain he continues to be the face of world cricketAnd naturally Sharmarsquos supporters werenrsquot about to let this one slide They saw this as nothing short of a deliberate insultAlso ReadJaiswal gets Aussie nod as new Kingrsquo can Gill hold his groundOne fan ever so eloquent took to social media to declare Big insult to our Indian Captain Fox Cricket knows who is the face of Indian cricket hence they are deliberately insulting Rohit Others perhaps with a bit more of a conspiracy theory flair suggested that Fox Cricket was intentionally trying to spark a fresh fan war between Kohli and Sharma fans Fox Cricket Australia intends to start a fresh fan war between fans of Sharma and Kohli It is projecting Kohli as the face of Team India because he is a popular and TRPdriven face there Rohit Sharma fans are not going to take it lightly one comment readIt didnrsquot take long for the usual fan infighting to take over with the keyboard warriors digging in sharpening their fingers for battle The supporters of both stars went on the offensive accusing each other of trying to claim the spotlight in the most trivial ways But the reason behind Fox Sportsrsquo curious poster decision is likely far simpler than the passionate fan theories suggest There remains a distinct possibility that the reason behind this baffling choice lies somewhere in logistics or timingAlso ReadPolitics vs cricket leaves Champions Trophy up in the airFor instance Sharma is reportedly expected to miss the first Test in Perth due to the impending arrival of his second child If that really is the case it stands to reason that the Indian team might need to be represented by someone else in promotional material And if Rohitrsquos not around why not go for the most obvious Indian face Kohli After all hersquos been the undeniable star of Indian cricket for nearly a decade and even in the absence of a captaincy role he remains the face most synonymous with the sport and someone Australia has long fearedNow one might argue if that was the case why not just feature vicecaptain Jasprit Bumrah whorsquoll likely lead the side in Rohitrsquos absence But how many fans are likely to tune in to see a poster with Bumrahrsquos steely face gracing the front page Kohli whether as captain or not still holds the kind of universal recognition that can draw eyes and most importantly a figure Australia has long dreaded with his aggressive batting and unmatched mental toughnessBesides Australias cricketing ethos has always been masterfully shaped around the art of psychological warfare For decades they have been refining their craft of intimidating opponents not just with their cricketing skills but with an almost Olympiclevel ability to mess with the minds of anyone unlucky enough to be on the other sideFrom the infamous mental disintegration strategies of the late 90s to todayrsquos more refined brand of get under the skin approach Australia has always been ahead of the game in the mental gymnastics department Forget technique or strategy just get in the opponentrsquos head and make them unravel