Aggression, not arrogance, is Symonds’ mantra

“We want to be aggressive and competitive but at the same time don’t want to cross the line and be perceived as silly and arrogant,” he said. Symonds was the marked man when Australia toured India a couple of months ago, having a series of altercations, none more than against pacer Sreesanth who is missing the present tour because of a shoulder injury.

Retirement on backfoot: Gilchrist

• Melbourne: On the cusp of becoming Australia’s most successful Test wicketkeeper, Adam Gilchrist revealed he wanted to retire after the Boxing Day Test against India at this time last year but postponed such plans indefinitely following a rejuvenating break.

Gilchrist, who needs another five dismissals to surpass Ian Healy’s Australian record of 395, said non-stop cricket took a toll on his 36-year-old body and he was considering making the upcoming four-match series’ opener against India his swansong a year ago.

Nielsen bats for Johnson

• Melbourne: Australian coach Tim Nielsen feels left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson’s impressive one-day record against India would stand him in good stead for the four-Test series. Johnson has troubled Indian batsmen in the shorter form of the game and was the highest wicket-taker in the recent seven-match one-day series with 14 scalps.

“He’s knocked over their (India’s) top order consistently over the last couple of years, which is something when you sit down and look at the mix of how it all works out, we’ll be taking it into account for certain, I believe,” Nielsen said.