Rahul Dravid sends Steve Smith-David Warner warning to Virat Kohli led team India

The Test series in Australia in 2018-19, which turned out to be a memorable one for Virat Kohli and Co. It was the first time an Indian side had won a Test series there. Regardless of the massive achievement, fans continue to argue whether the outcome could have been different if David Warner and Steve Smith were there.

The Aussies struggled to bat and collapsed many times in the series. But this time when India will go to Australia, both Smith and Warner are expected to be there and former India cricketer feels it could become a tougher challenge for the men in blue.

“I think it’s going to be a great series. Especially after India won last time, it was a fantastic win for India. So they (Australia) will be keen to correct that and there has been a lot of talk about that. It is the marquee series of the year and there has been great build up. I am really hoping we will be back to normal or at least normal enough to play the series,” Dravid said.

“It should be a cracking series between two top class teams. Australia are back to full strength with Smith and Warner. I think the area Australia struggled last time was their batting, they kept collapsing. Never gave their bowlers enough time to rest and they would hope it doesn’t happen this time,” he added.

Furthermore, Rahul Dravid stated that India’s bowling unit has significantly improved in the past couple of years, and it would be a great contest between the two teams. “India’s bowling has been great over the last couple of years, so it should be a great contest between bat and ball. Australia can always look back to last time and say Smith and Warner, our best players, were not there. This time hopefully all the best players from both teams will be competing.

“Missing Smith and Warner was big for Australia because of the kind of impact they have on the team. They are the best batsmen they have and score the maximum runs. You saw the kind of impact Smith had on the Ashes...It is going to be a bigger and stiffer challenge this time around. India has got the firepower to compete with that. They have some top players too,” he added.

The men in blue are expected to visit Australia in October this year. The two heavyweights are slated to take part in 3 T20Is and four match Test series, the first of which will be played in Adelaide starting 3rd December. The two teams will also take part in 3 ODIs.

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