Steve Smith troubled most by THIS Australian bowler during pink ball nets session: WATCH

It has been a tough start summer for the Australian men's cricket team. Playing just their second bilateral series since the resumption of international cricket, the Aussie selectors will be in a spot of bother after having lost almost 12 players to injuries at some point during the ongoing India vs Australia series. With senior player David Warner out with a groin injury and newbie Will  Pucovski sustaining yet another blow to the head, all eyes will be on Steve Smith to be the rock at the top of the order. 

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India vs Australia pink ball Test: Smith faces Hazlewood in the nets

Australian quick Josh Hazlewood has earned himself a reputation as Kohli's new "nemesis" after having dismissed the Indian skipper in each of the three matches in the recently concluded ODI series. Now, it seems, Hazlewood has taken on a new challenge - former Australian skipper Steve Smith. In a video released by Cricket Australia ahead of the India vs Australia pink ball Test, the master batter can be seen taking on Hazlewood in the nets and coming out without any answers to his deliveries. 

After missing out on the previous edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2018-19 due to his year-long suspension from the game, Smith will surely be fired up to help Australia bring the trophy back home after four long years. Without Smith and Warner, Australia lost a Test series to India at home for the first time ever last year. Once again without Warner, the Aussies will hope for  Smith to play a similar role to that of his match-winning performances in England that helped Australia retain the Ashes last year. 

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India have their own set of problems too going into the first of the four-Test series Down Under. This will be Virat Kohli's last game with the Men in Blue this year, as he returns home to prepare for the birth of the first child. His absence will be made worse by the lack of clarity over the fitness of Rohit Sharma and some forgettable performances by Prithvi Shaw in the practice tests ahead of the Adelaide Test.

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India vs Australia 2020 squads

Australia squad for India Tests 2020-21

Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad for tour of Australia 2020-21

Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

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Image Credits: AP