Melbourne, Nov 20: A month to go before the Indians land in Australia for a Test series, skipper Ricky Ponting has started the usual mind games, saying Anil Kumble will find it very hard to cope with the pressure of captaincy like his predecessors Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

"Kumble will be under pressure coming to Australia. Anyone who captains the Indian cricket team is always under a lot of pressure. A lot of very, very good players in the past haven't been able to cope with that. (Sachin) Tendulkar probably didn't ever really want to do it, I don't think," Ponting was quoted as saying by the 'Australian Associated Press' after the 2-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka at Hobart.

"Rahul Dravid did it for a short period of time. When he resigned he said he just wasn't enjoying the role. There's no doubt that he (Kumble) will be under some sort of pressure. But they are only under pressure if we play well enough. That's the thing," he added.

Australia will play a four-Test series against Australia starting December 26 and although Kumble has only been appointed for the series against Pakistan, Ponting seems to have presumed that the veteran leg-spinner will be given the reins for the tour Down Under as well.

"If we play well and start the series well ... generally we can put the captain under pressure," Ponting said.