Hussey relishing his toughest task

Mike Hussey is refusing to underestimate the unique challenge of touring India

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Australia batsman Mike Hussey believes the Test tour of India will be the biggest challenge of his career.

Only four players in the 15-man touring party - Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Simon Katich - have played Test cricket in India, whose conditions Australia have arguably found most difficult to adapt to.

And Hussey is well aware his first trip to play Test cricket in India will not be easy.

"It will be the hardest and toughest series I've played in but that's what you want and how you are measured as a player," he said.

"You saw the emotion on the guys' faces when they won in 2004 and it was almost the Everest for them.

“It's one of the hardest tours to win as the cricket is very hard to start but there are the external pressures as well.

"It's going to be huge and how we handle the pressures will be interesting. I think the IPL (Indian Premier League) actually broke down some of those cultural barriers, though. Suddenly we were with Indian teams with a lot of Indian players and we all got along brilliantly.

"We want to build this series up as much as we can and it's going to be hotly contested.

“It will be very exciting but hopefully the two teams play it hard and fair on the field and let all the other people build up the other stuff as much as they like.

"I'm sure there will be media people over there looking for non-cricket angles but we don't want that to get our mind off the job of winning."

Hussey wants to see all-rounder Andrew Symonds back in the Australia side "as soon as possible"

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After being sent home before the recent one-day series against Bangladesh, Andrew Symonds has not been included in the squad, but Hussey is hoping the all-rounder will be back soon.

"I was hoping he was going to be back but obviously he is still dealing with some issues. I'm hoping he can get them sorted as quickly as possible," Hussey said.

"If he isn't 100% ready to go it would be a mistake to take him on a tour of India because it's the sort of place where you have to be committed fully to the team and game or you will be found wanting.

"I'm hoping we can get him back as soon as possible and that he's dealing with the issues as well as he can."

Hussey was also quick to play down claims that the Australia players do not get along as well as they perhaps could, insisting they are firmly focused on performing well on the tricky Indian pitches against a dangerous bowling line-up.

"The team gets on very well," he said. "We've had a lot of changes the last few years with guys that have been around for 10 or 15 years moving on, so when there is change it takes time to develop relationships with the new guys coming in, but they have so much enthusiasm to play that it's infectious.

"The pitches are totally different but one of the strengths of our batting order is that we are all different.

"I will have my plans and strengths to different bowlers and if I stick to that and play my game I know I can be successful in any conditions, so all the other guys will be the same and we will try to stick to that."