Virat Kohli loves leading and is sure he is ready for the in-your-face pressure in store for his Test captaincy debut at the Gabba.

Kohli will become India’s 32nd Test captain on December 4, with regular skipper MS Dhoni missing the start of the four-Test series against Australia because of injury.

Responding to Peter Siddle’s suggestion that he might find the rowdy crowd and added responsibilities “a bit daunting”, Kohli got on the front foot.

“Well that’s for me to know and for me to experience,” Kohli said on Sunday.

“I’ve played against him, he’s quite a competitive guy so I’m not surprised there’s already some banter starting from that end … (and) I don’t mind all that.

“I love leading the side. I love being captain.

“I don’t see any issues on why I can’t be up to the challenge.”

Kohli has filled in for Dhoni in limited-overs contests, but is yet to do so in a Test.

“I’m pretty confident of the ability the guys have. It’s up to me how I handle them, how I handle different situations,” he said.

“As long as the team backs me and puts in the performances we want, I think I’m going to look good at the end of the day.”

Kohli was empathetic when asked about counterpart Michael Clarke’s injury-dogged lead-up to the first Test.

“I’ve heard about Michael Clarke’s hamstring. I’m not in a position to comment on that because I don’t know how serious it is,” he said.

“It’s very unfortunate for a cricketer before a Test series to have that sort of an injury.”