Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Indian fans fall in love with The West Australian ahead of blockbuster contest

Perth has become the centre of the cricket universe as the game’s two great powers get ready to duke out what is set to be a Border-Gavaskar series for the ages.

And The West Australian has become a focal point for information in the subcontinent as cricket-mad Indian fans clamour for the latest news on their heroes.

India’s first week in Perth was laden with drama and intrigue as the team put Western Australia’s iconic home of cricket, the WACA ground, into lockdown.

Media and fans alike were barred from their first sessions before a change of heart allowed The West Australian into a net session on Wednesday.

India then declared Thursday and Friday’s practises open before again locking down over the weekend, some media watching proceedings from the heights above the Ground’s car parks in East Perth.

The desperation for news on stars such KL Rahul and Shubman Gill, who both suffered apparent injuries that could rule them out of the series, has been at a fever pitch in India and from their devoted fans.

Many took to social media to share articles and back pages featuring cricket megastar Virat Kohli, celebrating one of the country’s favourite sons.

The back page of The Sunday Times, depicting Kohli’s head starring out at the reader with the headline ‘GOAT’, was shared more than 130 times with 534 likes from The West Sport X page.

The same page shared by an account calling itself ‘Virat Kohli Fan Club’ received more than 1000 likes.

Saturday’s back page, shared by The West Australian Sports Editor Jakeb Waddell, received similar treatment with plenty of love.

Hundreds of X accounts appearing to originate in the subcontinent jumped aboard The West’s coverage, sharing back pages and articles alike.

One fan claimed the newspaper had an aura around it as it covered the build-up for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar series.

Some Indian fans, such as Sachin Shukla, declared Australia had now fallen into ‘Kohlimania’ as he featured on four back pages and two front pages.

A Kohli fan named Hardik said it showed how influential the batter is in a global context, referring to The West Australian’s ‘Holy Kohli’ front page.

“The front page of The West Australian prominently featured Virat Kohli as he arrived in Perth. Kohli’s presence has generated a lot of excitement, marking a highlight for the Australian summer of cricket, this is one of the major papers. It demonstrates his high skillset,” he wrote on X.

Another sports page on X called the front page “simply amazing”.

A page called Cricket Knowledge even highlighted parts of articles to share with fans who can’t be in Perth.

One fan, who must be based in Perth, suggested the coverage was similar to that of AFL teenage phenom Harley Reid, who has featured dozens of times on the back and front pages since being drafted to the West Coast Eagles in 2023.

The Australian team will also boost excitement this week after touching down in Perth on Sunday.

They and India will host a number of training and media sessions in the coming days ahead of the West Test kicking off on Friday morning.