Australia ready for 'verbal battles' in India Test series

Captain Steve Smith wants Australia to "go for it" and step up the verbal battles with India in their forthcoming Test series.

Hosts India are in superb form, having hammered England 4-0 and then crushed Bangladesh in their one-off Test last week.

India have named an unchanged squad for the first two Tests of the four-Test series, all of which will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Recent series between the two nations have been feisty affairs and Smith says he is happy for his team to spar with their opponents if they feel it will help them win.

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"I think each of our individuals play the way they play and if they want to get into a battle verbally then, if that gets the best out of them, go for it," said Smith, who arrived with the squad on Monday.

"It's all about us making sure that as individuals, we're in the right mindset to go out and succeed and if guys want to get in those kind of battles, then go for it.

"But in the end, it's about us playing on skill and making sure that our skills are in the best place for us to succeed in these conditions."

The first Test takes in Pune on February 23, with further Tests in Bengaluru, Ranchi and Dharamshala.

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya