The much awaited India’s tour of Australia is about to kick-off on November 27 and with less than a week to go, the players of both sides are leaving no stone unturned in their training.

Australian star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell didn’t shy away from admitting that the Virat Kohli-led Indian side are a very strong opposition, even though Australia is playing on their own turf. 

Speaking about Kohli, who would be missing the final three Tests, Maxwell said that his Kings XI Punjab teammate KL Rahul can be an ideal replacement after his fantastic performance in IPL 2020.

During a virtual media interaction, Maxwell said “India have still got back-ups, more than capable of playing that role. We saw KL Rahul, the performance that he put on during the last IPL was extraordinary. Whether he opens the batting or not, I am sure he will be just as good a player.”

Australia were handed a huge boost when it was announced that the Indian skipper Virat Kohli will be returning home after the first Test at Adelaide. BCCI had declared that Kohli had been granted a paternity leave for the birth of his first child with actress wife Anushka Sharma.

KL Rahul was the Orange Cap winner in IPL 2020 with an astonishing 670 runs. Maxwell got a chance to watch players like KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Mohammad Shami closely at KXIP – all of whom performed brilliantly this season.

“Well, I would say they (Mayank-Rahul) are the two lovely guys I have ever met. It was a pleasure to spend the change room (with them), two very good players, they score all-round the wicket and have got very limited weaknesses,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said that Australia would be relying on their strong bowling against a star-studded Indian batting lineup and also hoped that the bigger grounds in Australia will favour them.

“I suppose ODI cricket might be a bit different (compared T20). Hopefully, with our bowling attack, we can put some pressure on them and with bounce in the pitches and bigger grounds as well, they play into our hands. They are good performers, and good players.”

India is slated to play three ODI’s, three T20I’s and four Tests down under. The tour begins with the ODI series, commencing on November 27. The first Test is scheduled for Adelaide from December 17.