Australian cricket teams of the past were known for playing the game, wearing heart on their sleeves. The men from Down Under did not know how to hold it back and were consistently involved in verbal volleys with oppositions.
Their tried and tested tactic of sledging on the field has, more often than not, worked in their favour. Off the field, Australians rely on mind games even before they get to the pitch to send strong messages to their rivals, often targeting key members of the opposite camp.
Steve Smith, skipper of the visiting Australian team, which is in India for a five-match ODI and three-match T20I series, has made sure the tradition has continued as he came up with a warning message to his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli, days ahead of the first ODI, starting September 17 in Chennai.
"I am not too concerned about the differences with Kohli. He is obviously a very good player and has a phenomenal ODI record. Hopefully, we can keep him quiet as much as possible in this series. If we do that then hopefully it can go a long way in us having success on this tour," Smith said, after a practice session in Chennai on Sunday, September 10.
Tempers flared when Smith and Kohli faced last time in India, during a four-match Test series earlier this year. The Indian captain all but called Smith a "cheat" after the former asked for help from the dressing room before taking a Decision Review System (DRS) call in third Test in Bengaluru.
Smith acknowledged his mistake after the end of the match and called it a "brain-fade" moment. Australia lost the Test and conceded their lead in the series before losing it 2-1.
Smith though believes there will not be any such controversies in the upcoming series. Australia will not find it easy against the hosts, who have been in rampant form over the last 18 months in their own backyard. However, the Men in Yellow are expected to give a stiff fight to Kohli and Co.
"I think it will be played in good spirit. It is a hard-fought contest playing against India," Smith said, before opening up that he expects flat wickets for the upcoming sereis.
On the other hand, India will be looking to avenge their 4-1 defeat they suffered the last time they toured Australia for a limited-overs series - in 2016. A 16-member squad for the first three ODIs, without big names of the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, was announced on Sunday.
Check out the ODI squads here
India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
