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The pressure is growing on Virat Kohli following a number of lean years in the Test arena, but the star veteran has been impressing his Indian teammates.
Virat Kohli is being backed to regain his mojo during the upcoming Test series against Australia, with stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah declaring the signs are "ominous".
Kohli has struck just two centuries in his past 60 Test innings and was restricted to just 93 runs at an average of 15.5 during India's shock 3-0 loss to New Zealand in India.
The pressure is growing on the 36-year-old to regain form during the upcoming five-Test series against Australia, and Bumrah has no doubt the battling veteran will produce the goods.
"He is one of the greats of the game," Bumrah said ahead of the first Test in Perth, starting Friday.
"He's the utmost professional that we have in our team. He's got a lot of success.
"He's one of the leaders, I made my debut under him, so he knows what he's doing.
"OK, one or two series here and there can go up and down, but the confidence that he has at this moment, I have no doubts ... and he's mentally switched on.
"He's looking to contribute. And the way I've seen him at training ... the signs are ominous.
"I don't want to jinx it by saying anything else, but yes, he's looking in very good shape."
India have held the Border-Gavaskar trophy since 2016/17.
They have pulled off two series wins in Australia since then, but their hopes of doing it again have been dealt a number of blows in the lead-up to the latest showdown.
Regular skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the first Test in Perth after remaining in India for the birth of his second child.
Young star Shubman Gill will also be absent after injuring his thumb at training last week, while veteran paceman Mohammed Shami is still building his fitness following an ankle injury.
Indian fans are still struggling to digest their team's dismal performance against NZ on home soil, but Bumrah said the players are primed to bounce back.
"The beauty about cricket is even if you win, you start from zero, and even if you lose you start from zero," Bumrah said.
"So that's how I look at the game.
"When we won the World Cup, that does not mean that we become complacent in other series.
"Obviously, yes, we were disappointed and we were down that we had a tough series (against NZ).
"But we are not carrying any baggages. We come with a fresh mindset, different opposition, and you learn from the changes that has happened in our team.
"We're not carrying any baggages from India, and we're full positive and we are trying to put our best foot forward over here."