Paine eyes 'mouth-watering' Test series against India but revenge not on mind

Their confidence soaring high after five Test wins in a row, Australia skipper Time Paine says they can't wait to host India for a "mouth-watering" series later this year but revenge is certainly not on their minds.

Australia had suffered their first ever Test series against India at home in the summer of 2018-19 when they missed prolific batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner, who were serving bans following a ball-tampering scandal that shook world cricket.

Australia has taken long strides since then with young batsmen rising to the occasion, their fast bowlers doing much better and Smith-Warner pair getting back to the fold.

As a result, Australia humbled Pakistan in both the Tests inside four days and scored dominant victories over the Kiwis.

A sense of confidence has replaced desperation as Paine spoke of India's tour which is still a year away.

"If we go to Bangladesh and play well and get some wins over there, then we come back to Australia playing India, and that's a pretty mouth-watering series for players and for fans," Paine said.

"It's hard not to be looking at that, and we've got some people at Cricket Australia already looking ahead to that series. But for the main playing group our next goal is Bangladesh, and we certainly can't take that lightly."
"Both of the two teams, Australia and India, are eyeing off that final so every point is going to be critical. If we can continue our upward trend that we've shown in the last 12 months, then you're potentially looking at the top couple of teams that are in the top two or three, in the world. It's going to be an awesome series."
"They showed last year they've got a pace battery that's going to be every bit as good as ours so it's going to be one to watch."