In the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner, India must grab the opportunity to win their maiden Test series against an "ordinary" Australia, former stumper Farokh Engineer said on Tuesday.
After drawing the Twenty20 series 1-1, India and Australia will be locked in a four-Test series, beginning in Adelaide on December 6.
"Australia have got two big names missing (Steve) Smith and (David) Warner. When you take two big names out of an (playing) XI, the team is weakened considerably," Engineer.
"India will never have a better chance of beating Australia. Australia is a pretty ordinary team at the moment, without these two people (Smith and Warner) and we should make the best of this opportunity," 80-year-old Engineer said.
Smith and Warner are facing a year-long ban after their involvement in the ball tampering scandal in South Africa.
Stressing that India have an all-round side, Engineer said the team is playing good cricket and they should defeat the hosts.
"India are playing very good cricket, we have a great captain in Virat Kohli, he is doing superbly well. We have got a good all-round side, good pace bowlers, good spinners, so let's take advantage of that and beat Australia in Australia, which we should be doing and we will be doing, God willing," added Engineer, who played 46 Test matches for India.
India are touring Australia with experienced Parthiv Patel and rookie Rishbah Pant as their two-wicket keepers in the squad and Engineer backed the Gujarat player to play in Test matches.
Asked who is better among the two, Engineer said, "Well I would go for a youngster. Rishabh Pant has shown lot of promise in batting. Parthiv is still fit. I think the best keeper should play Test match, ODI cricket a better batsman (can play). Rishabh is certainly my choice for ODIs but for a Test someone like Parthiv will be better, although he is 35".
‘play tough aus cricket’
Former captain Michael Clarke has advised the current side to "play tough Australian cricket" in the home Test series, saying too much emphasis on being nice guys on the field will lead them nowhere.
The mellowed down approach has drawn criticism from World Cup winning skipper Clarke.
"Australian cricket, I think, needs to stop worry about being liked and start worrying about being respected. Play tough cricket. Whether we like it or not, that's in our blood," Clarke was quoted as saying by Macquarie Sports Radio.
