Virat Kohli and Co must be high on confidence when they will tour Australia at the end of this year. India are scheduled to play 3 T20Is, 4 Tests and 3 ODIs in the full-fledged tour. Last time, when the sub-continental giants went down under in 2018-19, they thrashed the home team in ODIs and Test matches while the T20I series was tied. This time, however, Australia will have the services of David Warner and Steve Smith and the duo will possess a difficult challenge against India. Well, at least, that’s what former Indian batting star Rahul Dravid reckons. India vs Australia 2020-21 Schedule, Free PDF Download.

“Missing (Steve) Smith and (David) Warner was a huge thing for Australia because of the impact they have on that team. They are their (Australia’s) top two batsmen, they scored the most number of runs for them,” Dravid said on Sony Ten Pit Stop. Matthew Wade Feels Verbal Battles With Virat Kohli and Co Can Backfire During India Tour of Australia 2020–21.

Smith and Warner couldn’t participate during India’s last tour of Australia as they were serving a one-year ban imposed on them due to their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Hailing the batting prowess of the Aussie duo, the former Indian skipper said that the Aussies will leave no stones unturned to redeem themselves in the forthcoming tour. “We have seen how big an impact someone like Smith had on the Ashes. Even though Warner was out of form, he was able to carry that series along with (Marnus) Labuschagne on his own,” said the 47-year-old.

“But yes, these two guys (Smith and Warner) will make a huge impact in that team, so it will be a bigger and stiffer challenge for India this time around. Australia will always look back on the last series and they can always say look Smith and Warner were not there, our best players were not there, but this time you are going to have all the best players of both the teams,” he added.

However, the legendary cricketer also backed the Indian team to put up a great performance and said that the series will witness some high quality of cricket.

“But I’d say India has got the firepower to compete and they have got top-class players. So it should be a good one, everyone is going to look forward to it. It is going to be a great series especially after India won last time, it was a fantastic win for India,” the veteran of 164 Test added.

“Two great teams, two top-class teams. Australia obviously back to full strength with Smith and Warner. The area where Australia struggled last time was their batting, their batting just kept collapsing, they never gave their bowlers enough to rest upon. So that is something that they will hope that doesn’t happen this time. India’s bowling has been fantastic over the last couple of years, so that should be great. It should be a great contest and probably marquee series of the year for the world,” Dravid concluded.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2020 12:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).