Australia are desperate to create doubt in Virat Kohli's masterful mind during the four-Test series that starts in India next Thursday, but wickets will be far more effective than words.
Steve Smith's side, who start a tour game in Mumbai on Friday before travelling to Pune for the first Test, have no shortage of plans to ponder as they seek to snap a nine-Test losing streak in Asia.
Coach Darren Lehmann recently admitted if they're going to improve Australia's terrible record in India, which stands at one Test series win in the past 47 years, then everything is going to have to go right.
Topping the list is curbing Kohli's immense influence. It proved impossible during the most recent Test series between the two sides, when Kohli tallied a record-breaking 692 runs in Australia.
One school of thought is the fiery 28-year-old, who has a history of on-field spats with Australians, is prone to losing his cool.
Smith suggested earlier this summer he'd be keen to make his counterpart "a little bit angry and ruffle his feathers".
He was a touch more diplomatic in this week's arrival press conference, noting if some teammates "want to get into a battle verbally, and that gets the best out of them then go for it".
Glenn Maxwell, who boasts Kohli as one of his seven Test wickets, will be giving the superstar the silent treatment if called upon to play his first Test since 2014.
"I'm probably not going to say a thing to him," Maxwell said in Mumbai.
"He (Kohli) is up and down with sledging. I suppose if you strike a chord with him or something gets him agitated to play a big shot, blokes are more likely to go for it.
"But at the moment there's not too much agitating him ... we've obviously been watching him play over the last few months and just admired the way he's gone about it."
Kohli is undeniably in career-best form, having recently taken his game to another level.
The gifted right-hander peeled off a double-hundred in each of his past four Test series, notably averaging 109 in India's recent 4-0 thumping of England.
It has resulted in India regaining the No.1 Test ranking amid a 19-match undefeated streak.
So how do you stop someone regarded by many good judges as the best batsman in the world?
"It can only just take one bit of bad luck, or an unfortunate dismissal where he's run out or something like that, that can sometimes trigger a little bit of indecision or doubt," the offspinning allrounder said.
The series comes six months after Australia were humiliated 3-0 in Sri Lanka, but this month's training camp in Dubai has helped instil confidence according to Maxwell.
"It was perfect preparation," he said.
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