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Captains sing same tune on Starc

Rival skippers Smith and Kohli both well aware of the impact Australia's left-arm spearhead can have on series

While much of the talk in the lead-up to the Qantas Tour of India has been about spin bowling, the most dangerous bowler in the series might well be of the speed variety.

Pace ace Mitchell Starc has been praised by Test captains Virat Kohli and Steve Smith for his rapid development as at Test bowler, ability to bowl reverse swing and bowl at extreme speeds.

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The 27-year-old returned to somewhere near his best by the end of Australia's home summer after suffering a horrific training mishap that required 35 stitches and a month of rehab in the build-up to the first Test against the Proteas in Perth.

His best is utterly destructive, as seen with the white ball during the 2015 World Cup in which he was Player of the Tournament, and with the red last winter in Sri Lanka where he captured 24 wickets in three Tests on surfaces that disagreed with fast bowling.

Aug 2016: Watch all of Starc's 24 wickets v Sri Lanka

Peak Starc is a frightening prospect; standing close to 200cm, the lissom tearaway has reached speeds of 160kph, can conventionally swing the new ball and reverse swing the old ball, possesses a devastating yorker and surprise bouncer, the latter proving a match-winning delivery in Australia's epic Test against Pakistan at the Gabba last December.

Now, with almost four months of repetitive bowling under his belt, Starc is primed to pounce on India, and Kohli is well aware of the risk the left-armer poses.

"Mitchell Starc, he's a world-class bowler, we all know that," Kohli said on first Test eve in Pune.

"He's been hampered with injuries quite often but the way he's evolved as a bowler has been outstanding.

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"I've played with him in the IPL, I've faced him in my first two tours to Australia.

"From then to now it's a massive, massive change and the way he's learned the art of reverse swing and bowling with the old ball as well is quite amazing to see, the way he's developed his skills.

"That's something every cricketer in the world would admire. Like you admire world-class batsmen you admire world-class bowlers as well and you respect their skills, and Mitchell is one of them.

"He's really taken his game to the next level and that's why he's one of the top bowlers in world cricket.

"He deserves to be there because he's worked very hard for that and the results are evident."

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While he is sublime on home soil, Starc boasts a superior record away from the fast, bouncy pitches Australia offers, averaging a tick under 30 per wicket in his own backyard compared to 26 on foreign land.

In fact, it's on the spin-friendly pitches in the Caribbean and Sri Lanka where Starc has proven most effective, with 36 wickets in six Tests.

And that's why Starc will perhaps be Smith's go-to bowler and India's biggest threat during the Qantas Tour of India.

"The fact that he can bowl 150kph is a start," Smith said when asked why Starc excels on dry, low spinning pitches.

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"But with that you've also got to have some skills to take wickets on particularly slow wickets.

"He's a very good reverse (swing) bowler, he controls the ball really well.

"That's a great starting point for fast bowling in subcontinent conditions when the wickets aren't quick and you can't bounce guys out.

"You have to have other plans and getting the ball to shift in the air, for fast bowlers, is a big weapon.

"When the ball is shifting he's one of the best going around."