With David Warner and Steve Smith back in the Australian line-up, India will face “tougher” time during their tour Down Under later this year, according to the pace legend Glenn McGrath.
However, McGrath has no doubt that India has the confidence of playing in Australian conditions but said this time the hosts have the explosive batsmen Warner and Smith and they would certainly make the tourists' life tough in the four-match Test series later this year.
Virat Kohli-led India cricket team is scheduled to tour Australia to play four Tests, three One Day Internationals, and three Twenty20 Internationals from October 2020 to January 2021.
Last time, India had registered their historic Test series triumph in 71 years in Australia to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2018-19 by winning the four-match Test series 2-1 against Tim Paine and his team that didn't feature Smith and Warner, who were serving 12-month ball-tampering bans.
Now, the two have been looked in good form since they returned to the international cricket ahead of the 2019 World Cup and helped Australia retain the Ashes against England.
McGrath told reporters in Mumbai, “Australia is playing good cricket. Steve Smith and David Warner — both are playing well and we saw what Warner is capable of in the Australian summer. Having a batsman like Warner back, and a quality batsman like Steve Smith, it's a totally different game.”
He further added, “It's gonna be tougher for India. That's not to say they can't perform well. They have got the confidence of playing in Australian conditions now and they know how to do it. They've done it and they've been successful. So, there's still enough positives there I think it's going to be a really good series for sure.”
The Aussie also heaped praise on India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is set to play in DY Patil T20 tournament after being sidelined for five months with a lower back injury.
McGrath signed off by saying, “I like Hardik, the way he bowls, bats, his attributes. It is handy to have a player like that.”
(With PTI Inputs)
