After their awful experience in England, those who were part of that Indian touring squad and now primed to face Australia at home would know all too well that playing overseas is a different ball game altogether. England's pacers bowled with a lot of fire to stifle India's strong batting line-up and without runs on the board and in the absence of Zaheer Khan, India were outplayed in all departments. The team's failure in England was real eye opener for MS Dhoni and Co.
Though India managed to win a Test series over West Indies 2-0 at home, they will be fully aware of what lies ahead. Bowling has been India's major concern, with Zaheer still doubtful and an injury cloud hanging over Ishant Sharma. Umesh Yadav (two Tests), Abhimanyu Mithun (four) and Vinay Kumar (yet to debut) are still not ready to lead India's bowling attack.
Indian bowlers over the years have generally found the going tough in Australia. This is certainly one reason why Australia is one of the two countries - South Africa being the other - where India have never won a Test series. And considering the fact that Indian teams have made nine tours of Australia over 64 years, this is a pretty discouraging record.
The biggest test and challenge will be for India's spin duo of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha. Both had a highly successful home Test series against West Indies but have never faced such a challenging tour, where the pitches are more suited to pacers.
If the team management opts for one spinner, it won't be an easy choice. Ojha is experienced and has been consistent of late, and Ashwin, who relishes bowling on tracks offering bounce, can be effective. He is not a great turner of the ball, but has subtle variations with an effective carom ball.
Australia, like England, is not a happy hunting ground for spinners, especially offspinners. Harbhajan Singh has just nine wickets to his name in Australia, while his record against the Aussies in India stands at an outstanding 81 wickets from 12 matches. Even the great Muttiah Muralithran struggled in Australia, as did Graeme Swann.
In the present squad, a line-up of five fast bowlers and two spinners is the right blend for a tour of Australia. The MCG may be the only possible venue where India will go in with two tweakers; at the rest of the venues, it should be three pacers and one spinner. Perth, Sydney and Adelaide are traditionally fast-paced pitches and it's highly unlikely that India will go in with two slow bowlers.
There is a theory that the Aussies are vulnerable against offspinners; so by that thinking, it appears Ashwin may get the nod ahead of Ojha. He is a tough, competitive cricketer who loves challenges, has enough variety in his bowling to bamboozle the Aussies on their own turf and has the confidence buoyed by early success in his Test career. He did better than Ojha in the tour matches – his four wickets on day two of the second fixture triggered a batting collapse – and there's the added value of his batting.
Ojha has done admirably of late but overall his figures convey the impression that as a bowler he is steady at best; a containing bowler, not one who can run through a quality side. Among Indian left-arm spinners, only Bishan Singh Bedi has enjoyed some success in Australia and Ojha would do well to be inspired by the former India captain.
As Indian bowlers have discovered on tours of Australia, success does not come easy. It will be the same case with their spin duo this time, though one aspect going for them is that they will not have to confront an awesome Australian batting line-up, the kind that most of their predecessors were up against.