Veteran spinner Nathan Lyon believes Virat Kohli's absence in the last three Tests of upcoming series doesn't necessarily make Australia favourites to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as India boasts of a lot of "superstars" in its team. Kohli will leave after the opening Test in Adelaide as he has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI to be with his wife Anushka Sharma for the birth of their first child.

Test specialist Lyon said he is obviously disappointed to get limited opportunity to get a crack at Kohli, who is considered one of the best batsmen in the world. "It's disappointing for the series. You want to play against the best players in the world. I believe he is the best player in the world along with Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. It's disappointing but they have still got superstars. Look at [Cheteshwar] Pujara, [Ajinkya] Rahane, and they have also got a couple of young guys coming in. It's still going to be a massive challenge for us," Lyon was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.