There is a lot of anticipation around India’s tour Down Under later this year, where Virat Kohli and company will face Australia in four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.
Just like the fans, Australia’s star batsman is also excited as he believes the much-awaited series will be ‘incredibly special’.
“They are an amazing side and can't wait to play them when they come out to Australia this year, will be something incredibly special," Smith was quoted as saying in Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.
India's tour of Australia will kick-start with a T20I affair on October 11 in Brisbane. The other two T20I games will be played on October 14 (Canberra) and October 17 (Adelaide).
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin on December 3 at Gabba. India are then scheduled to play a pink-ball Test from December 11 to 15 in Adelaide while the third and fourth Tests will be held in Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7) respectively.
The ODI series is slated to start on January 12 in Perth, followed by matches on January 15 (Melbourne) and January (Sydney) 17.
Smith also opened up about his camaraderie with India skipper Virat Kohli, describing him as a "terrific guy".
"I had few conversations with him (Virat) off the field, few messages here and there in recent times just to see how things are going in India. He is a terrific guy and we both play hard out on the field and play as well for our respective teams and its part of the game," he said.
During last year's World Cup game between India and Australia at the Oval, Kohli had asked the Indian fans to applaud Smith and not boo him, a gesture which earned him the prestigious ICC Spirit of Cricket award.
Talking about that incident, Smith said he appreciated Kohli's gesture.
"Virat's gesture in the World Cup to the Indian fans that were giving me (Smith) and David Warner little bit of a stick, I appreciated that and I share that with him straight up. He is a terrific guy and the way he has led the Indian team has been amazing," he remarked.
(With PTI inputs)
