Dravid Feels India Will Face Stiff Challenge From Australia As Hosts Will Be Bolstered By 'Impactful' Smith, Warner

"Missing Smith and Warner was a huge thing for Australia because of the impact they have on that team. They are their (Australia's) top two batsman, they scored the most number of runs for them," Dravid said on 'Sony Ten Pit Stop' show aired on the channel's Facebook page.

David Warner and Steve Smith

Former Indian batting stalwart Rahul Dravid believes that Virat Kohli and Co. are in for a real competition when they take on Australia in their scheduled tour 'Down Under' later this year as the 'Aussies' would be bolstered by the inclusion of their mainstays Steve Smith and David Warner. Dravid went onto say that with the 'impactful' Steve Smith and David Warner up their ranks this time around, India will face stiff challenge in their Test tour of Australia later this year. "Missing Smith and Warner was a huge thing for Australia because of the impact they have on that team. They are their (Australia's) top two batsman, they scored the most number of runs for them," Dravid said on 'Sony Ten Pit Stop' show aired on the channel's Facebook page. The disgraced duo of Smith and Warner missed India's historic maiden away Test series win over Australia in their backyard in 2018 on account of the one-year bans handed by ICC for their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering episode in South Africa. "We have seen how a big 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. "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," added the former India captain, a veteran of 164 Tests. India are set to tour Australia for a four-match Test series, with a Day-Night Test included as part of the tour roster. The tour will commence with the first Test starting December 3 at Gabba, Brisbane. "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," Dravid said. The India stalwart, however, said Virat Kohli and his team has the firepower to give Australia a tough fight in the upcoming series. "But I'd say India has got the fire power to compete and they have got top-class players. So it should be a good one, everyone is going to look forward to it," he said.