Melbourne, Nov. 15 : Former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne has said Australia is still the world’s champion cricket team, despite being thrashed by India two nil in the recent away series.

Rubbishing India''s claims to champion status despite their 2-0 Border-Gavaskar series win, Warne said that Australia is being challenged, but was still the number one team in world cricket.

"Australia are still No. 1 in the world without a doubt. Cricket worldwide is not about a heavyweight title match. You don''t put your heavyweight title up for grabs every series or each week you would have England, India or Australia all as champions," Fox Sports quoted Warne, 39, as saying.

He said that team captain Ricky Ponting''s Indian nightmare will make him go for the jugular of the Kiwis when both face up to each other in a Test series from next week.

He also said Ponting would have been respected as "Australian" for sacrificing his spot for the Tests against New Zealand rather than address a slow over-rate in the final Test against India at Nagpur.

"The decision was to go for the jugular or try and get the over-rate right. If he didn''t (get the over-rate right, then he would) miss two Tests (but) it was the right thing to do," Warne said.

"Every single one of us in Australia would have said, ''good on you mate, you went for the win''. I know I would have. If he had got rubbed out he would have got sympathy from people. Australia might not have won but people would have understood that and said ''you know what, you went for it, which was Australian''."

Warne is concerned by Australia''s recent inability to bowl out sides but said all-rounder Shane Watson and struggling spearhead Brett Lee were the key to an Australian renaissance. (ANI)