Former Australia wicket-keeper batsman, Adam Gilchrist believes the absence of David Warner and Steven Smith will be a big blow for the Aussie during their upcoming series against India.

Meanwhile, Australia relied heavily on the Smith-Warner pair in the last few years. From 2013, the duo scored a whopping 35 percent of Australia’s runs.

Since 2013, Smith has scored more Test runs than anyone in the world, thumping 5940 runs, ahead of England’s Joe Root and Warner. In terms of centuries since 2013, Smith also leads the pack with 23, ahead of Virat Kohli and Warner (18).

As a result, Adam Gilchrist feels missing two prolific run-scorer will hurt the chances of Australia.

“It would be huge. Smith and Warner have provided the bulk of the runs in the Australian batting line-up for a number of years now. Without them, someone needs to step up and fill that void. So, it’s an opportunity for the rest of the batting line-up. So, clearly big shoes to fill. That will have a big impact on the series.

We do still have a world class bowling line-up. With the three-four quicks and Nathan Lyon, it’s a challenging bowling line-up. The big challenge for Australia will be to get enough runs for the bowling line-up to defend,” Adam Gilchrist said.

The last time India had toured Australia, Smith, and Warner amassed 1,198 runs, helping the Aussies win the series 2-0. However, they will not feature in the upcoming series against Virat Kohli & Co.

They are currently in exile due to the one-year ban imposed on them for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March this year.