Labuschagne wants to be like Kohli, Williamson and Smith

Marnus Labuschagne

Sydney: After dominating the longest format of the game for a year, Australia batsman Labuschagne has said that he aspires to master all formats of the game and become like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith.

His remarks came before the squad's departure for the three-match ODI series against India.

"You look at the guys I look up to and aspire to - Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root. They've been doing it for a very long time, five, six years they've been consistent, not just in one format, but two or more formats," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Labuschagne as saying.

"So for me personally there's a lot to learn and a lot to grow because I've had some success this summer but the real challenge for me is to be more consistent going on and being able to keep putting continued performances on the board," he added.

Labuschage recently grabbed a career-best ranking and moved to the third place in the latest ICC Test player rankings after a match-winning double-century against New Zealand in Sydney.

The 25-year-old moved up one slot after scores of 215 and 59. He was the highest scorer in the series with 549 runs, while his five previous Tests that include two at home against Pakistan, saw him amass 896 runs.

"If I can continue to do that, then that's obviously going to be the challenge for me, and getting an opportunity in this one-day series is an opportunity for me to show a slightly different part of my game that we haven't seen this summer, but that's a really exciting challenge too," Labuschagne said.

The performances in the longest format earned Labuschagne a place in the ODI squad. But the batsman realises the challenge of playing on Indian soil.

"A big part of playing in India is how you play spin, so for me being nice and clear with my plans about how I play spin and then just trusting the processes I have. Batting in the middle order it's about running really hard between wickets and trying to get those runs through the middle, then when you get the opportunity towards the back end to open the shoulders a bit," Labuschagne said.

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), D'Arcy Short, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (vc), Pat Cummins (vc), Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

The first ODI between Australia and India will be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on January 14.

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