MONACO: Steve Waugh is a little over 6,500 km away from Mumbai at the moment, where the Australian team is ready to get their Indian tour underway. But the verbal volleys have already kicked off before the Australian XI prepares to get ready for the warm-up game on Friday.Former captain Sourav Ganguly threw the first grenade by saying the Australian will crumble 4-0 in the series but his Australian counterpart Waugh is quick to counter that with a dead defensive bat."It's foolish to write a side off like that. I think anything can happen. India hasn't seen a lot of our players. I believe (Mitchell) Starc is the best quick bowler in the world and (Josh) Hazlewood is right up there. The spinners - jury's out a bit there but Lyon is a very good competitor," Steve, one of Laureus ambassadors, told the Indian media in Monaco on Tuesday."Sourav is a bit optimistic and I'll challenge him on the quote that Australia is going to be beaten 4-0," he added.The former Australian captain though was quick to admit that this is one of the strongest Indian side in many years led by sensational off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin . The Tamil Nadu spinner was the quickest to 250 wickets in Test cricket and reached this landmark against Bangladesh in the last match."Ashwin is like the (Don) Bradman of bowling at the moment. His record is equivalent to what Bradman did with batting and he's a pretty handy batsman as well. He's the player I think we have to overcome if we can do that we have a chance," the 51-year-old from New South Wales said.Steve, the older of the two Waugh twins, believes Australia can't win the series without being positive. "You go to India and you have to be positive, England should have won that first Test and from then the momentum totally changed. If things start going against you it's really hard to change the tide, you got to stay calm under pressure," Steve, who scored 10,927 Test runs at an average of over 51, said.Steve, who turned out for Australia in 168 Tests, is one of the few batsman who averaged more in away Test - 55.85 - than at home (47.58). That's why it surprises him that teams are struggling to perform in overseas Tests."Everyone's form away from home has been dismal and I don't know why that is. Everyone plays a lot around the world, we have neutral umpires, no excuses not to play well away from home. I always used to enjoy playing overseas and felt there was less pressure, away from all the expectations of friends and family as well, you can tend to relax when you are playing away from home," he said about playing overseas.One man who Indians will probably be concerned about is David Warner , who led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to the 2016 IPL title and is undoubtedly the Australian trump card."Warner is an amazing player. He's changing the way opening batting is looked at and he's really defining the role. But he's going to be facing Ashwin in the first or second over every time and I don't think there is going to be two opening pace bowlers coming against him. Indian crowds are in for a treat because he is an amazing player to watch," Waugh felt.The man who led one of the most successful Australian sides in 57 Tests also believes Indian team is thriving under Virat Kohli 's leadership."In Indian conditions they are very hard to beat. Kohli's leadership is contagious and players rally around him. Virat feels like they can do anything. He's a big like a warrior and feels like he can do anything. This new Team India can achieve anything," Waugh said.