Mark Taylor believes Mitchell Starc can become as good a bowler as former left-armer Bruce Reid, though the young quick still has a long way to go.

A day after having his aggression questioned by Shane Warne, Starc was no match for M.S. Dhoni, who sensed he was down in confidence and launched a blistering assault on the NSW paceman.

Starc had no answer for Dhoni, who treated the bowler with disdain. He walked down the pitch at times to Starc, who can bowl in the 140km/h range, and hit boundaries on both sides of the wicket.

Dhoni's attack clearly rattled Starc, who struggled with his accuracy. His confidence was well down by the time he bowled two bouncers that climbed so high they were signalled wides.

With figures of 0-83 from 17 overs, Starc was the least threatening of the Australian bowlers and will need a swift reversal in his fortunes to hold his place for the Boxing Day Test.

The 24-year-old has performed well in the limited overs formats for Australia but has not featured in consecutive Tests in a series since his debut series in 2011.

His underwhelming first innings display places out-of-favour quick Peter Siddle back in the frame though Ryan Harris will return if he can resume bowling in the nets by the end of this Test.

Taylor said Starc's main problem was not so much a lack of presence at the bowling crease but his inconsistent line and length.

"To me, Mitchell Starc can be, with further improvement, a Bruce Reid-type bowler," Taylor said on Channel Nine's broadcast. "He's a quiet man, a gentle man, but it doesn't mean he can't be a good player. You become a good bowler by bowling a lot in the same spot."

Warne did not back away from his criticism of Starc, saying his comments that the bowler was "soft" were taken out of context. Warne said the remark was made in the context of his "nonchalant" body language rather than his heat exhaustion.

Warne even suggested national coach Darren Lehmann and Cricket Australia's fast bowling mentor, Craig McDermott, shared his opinion.

Starc has often been compared with Mitchell Johnson as both are left-armers capable of bowling at high speed though both are not naturally aggressive.

Johnson, however, upped the aggro last summer and soon became the most feared fast bowler in the world.

"I want to clear something up, I never at any stage called Mitchell Starc soft," Warne said. "What I did do was say his body language and presence was nonchalant and he needed to improve on his body language. All was a bit soft, nice and easy, not him. It had nothing to do with heat."

Warne, who attacked journalists for taking his comments out of context, contacted Lehmann on Wednesday night after the coach described the comments as "very harsh".

"We spoke and he said, 'What you said is exactly what we've been saying,' " Warne said. "He needs a better presence and give a bit more [to] let the batsman know he's around. That's all I meant by it and I stand by what I said."