Australia batter Steve Smith said playing Test cricket in India is very difficult and he would love to win a Test series against the No.1-ranked side.

Australia last won a Test series in India in 2004, when Ricky Ponting became the only captain from his country to win a Border-Gavaskar trophy on Indian soil.

"I would love to win a Test series in India," Smith told New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi during a podcast organised by their IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. "I think as an Australian cricketer we talk about Ashes, which is always big, the World Cup is big, but I think now India is the No.1 team in the world and it is a very difficult place to play Test cricket, so I would love to win a series there," he added.

Smith was the top run-getter at the 2019 Ashes series, scoring 774 runs at a terrific average of 110.57

"Other than that I would not like to set too many goals, but take things day-by-day, series-by-series, just try to improve."

The 30-year-old also praised India spinner Ravindra Jadeja, whom he finds "very difficult to play" in the subcontinent.

"Jadeja in the sub-continent ... why is he so good because, he hits that good length and one ball skids on and one spins, and it just looks all the same out of the hand. I think consistency in length is key and then having at least one variation," said Smith.

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"So, I think for a leg-spinner, having a good googly, or a slider is crucial and for fingers spinners, being able to change the pace without changing the arm speed too much [is important]. I reckon there a few around the world who do that, Jadeja is one of them. He is very difficult to play."

Smith returned to international cricket last year after serving a year-long ban imposed on him for his role in the ball-tampering incident in the 2018 Cape Town Test. He played in two big assignments after that – the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and the Ashes series.

"It has been a pretty long year with the World Cup and Ashes, a few away one-day tours," said Smith. "So this rest is not the worst thing but hopefully it is for a few weeks. I am pretty keen to get back to playing."