INDIAN skipper MS Dhoni has assured rival captain Michael Clarke there will be no repeat of the infamous racism saga that marred their last tour of Australia.
Australia's most recent home series against India three years ago degenerated into a bitter war of words, with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and allrounder Andrew Symonds among the chief protagonists.
At the height of the controversy, there were calls for Ricky Ponting to be stripped of the Australian captaincy and the Indians threatened to abort the tour if Harbhajan was suspended.
But with Harbhajan and Symonds not involved in this series, Dhoni said the Indians had no intention of reprising their sledging war with Australia.
"We will try to keep the fireworks off," Dhoni said at a press conference in Chennai before leaving for Australia yesterday."It is about the fireworks on-the-field ... both the sides have talented players.
With Australia reeling from a shock second-Test loss to minnows New Zealand, Dhoni believes India will never get a better chance to win on Australian soil.
"Even last time we had a very good chance and we did perform well. It is not like that the opposition is not doing well (but) it will be the best chance for us," Dhoni said."We would like to improve in all three departments. Catching will be very crucial. We are more concerned about where we need to work on and not worry about what kind of opposition we are playing."
