India's All-time Test XI in Australia

Indian will be touring Australia later this year and as a matter of fact, India has never won a Test series in Australia. Three times they have drawn the series; 1-1 in 1980-81 and 2003-04 and 0-0 in 1986-87. The Australian team will miss two of their best batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner who are facing a year ban because of the sandpaper scandal. With Warner and Smith not being in the squad, it will be an excellent opportunity for India to win the Test series for the first time on Australian soil.

That being said, India has given a tough fight to Australia in quite a few series. Although the scoreline in the last series in 2014-15 was 2-0 in favour of the Aussies, Indian batsmen put up quite a show. India probably lost the series because of the lack of good bowlers.

India won a Test match in Australia last in 2008 and it has been more than 10 years since then. They will be looking to win one this time around and probably win the series too.

Some Indian players have performed exceedingly well in Australia. Whether it is Kohli's lightning performance in the last series or Rahul Dravid's special hundred in Adelaide, there have been some exceptional performances from Indian players on the Australian soil.

With this in mind, let us look at the best Indian eleven on the Australian soil. This eleven is entirely based on the performances of the players in Australia alone.

#1 Openers

Let us look at the options for the opening slot.

Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay was the second best Indian batsman after Virat Kohli in the 2014 Australian tour. In 4 matches he scored 482 runs at an average of 60.25. He scored a century and 4 fifties.

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Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar was one of the few Indian openers who performed brilliantly in Australia. In 11 matches in Australia, he has 920 runs to his name at an average of 51.11. He scored 5 hundreds and 1 fifty. 172 was his highest score in Australia.

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Virender Sehwag

Sehwag, in 11 matches in Australia, scored 1031 runs at an average of 46.86. He scored 5 fifties and 2 centuries. One of these was a score of 195 from just 233 in Melbourne in 2003.

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Sunil Gavaskar will be the first choice of the opener as he has an impressive record in Australia. Between Sehwag and Vijay, Sehwag takes the second opener's slot mainly because of his ability to counterattack the opposition. Also, Vijay has just played one series and hence a more experienced player will be preferable.

#2 Middle Order

Let us look at the options for the middle order.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin has an impressive record in Australia. He has played 20 Tests and has scored more than 1800 runs at an impressive average of 53.20. He also has scored 6 hundreds and 7 fifties. He was unlucky a few times as he got out in the 80s and 90s and wasn't able to convert them to hundreds.

On his first tour of Australia in 1992, he scored his second hundred in Test matches in Sydney. He scored 148* from just 213 balls. That was the only Test match of that tour which India managed to draw. Sydney has been a happy hunting ground for Sachin as he scored his second highest score of 241* in Test matches in Sydney in 2004.

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Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was a part of the last 2 Australian tours. He has scored 992 runs in just 8 Tests at an average of 62. He has scored 5 hundreds and 2 fifties in Australia. In the first Test of the 2014 Australian tour, Virat Kohli scored hundreds in both the innings, 115 in the first innings and 141 in the second but India still lost the match by 48 runs.

He scored 169 in the third Test of that tour and 147 in the fourth one.

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Mohinder Amarnath

In 8 games Amarnath scored 668 runs at an average of 55.66. He scored 2 hundreds and 3 fifties and he also scored his career-best 138 in Australia. In bowling, he has 8 wickets at an average of 35.14.

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VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman had a special liking for Australia and he performed exceptionally well against them. His 281 also came against them at Eden Gardens. In Australia, he played 15 matches and scored 1236 runs at an average of 44.14. He scored 4 hundreds and 4 fifties in Australia and 178 was his highest score.

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Gundappa Vishwanath

In Australia, Gundappa Vishwanath scored 686 runs in 8 matches at an average of 45.73 scoring 1 hundred and 5 fifties.

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Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane was a part of the team in the 2014 Australian tour and in 4 matches he scored 399 runs at an average of 57. He scored 2 fifties and a 147.

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Rahul Dravid

In Australia, Rahul Dravid played 16 Tests and scored 1166 runs at an average of 41.64. He scored 6 fifties and a hundred, with the score of 233 he scored in Adelaide being the one hundred he has to his name against Australia. His 233 helped India to win the Adelaide Test and because of that win, India managed to draw that series.

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Since Rahul Dravid doesn't have a very impressive average in Australia, Sachin will play at number 3 in this side and Virat Kohli takes the number 4 spot because of his staggering runs.

Although Rahane has a slightly better average than Amarnath, the latter will take the number 5 spot as Rahane has played fewer games than Amarnath and Amarnath can bowl a few overs too if needed.

#3 Wicket-keeper

Let us look at the options for the wicket-keeper position.

Syed Kirmani

Kirmani in 11 Tests scored 471 runs at an average of 29.43 which is higher than his career average of 27.04. He also scored 2 fifties with 55 being his highest score.

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MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni has been the best wicket-keeper batsman India has ever had. But he struggled in Australian conditions. In 9 matches he scored 311 runs at an average of just 19.43. He scored just 1 fifty in 18 innings.

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Parthiv Patel

Parthiv also doesn't have an exceptional record in Australia. He scored 160 runs in 4 games at an average of 32 including a fifty.

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Kiran More

In 3 Tests he scored 143 runs at an average of 28.60 including a fifty.

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Dhoni has the worst average among the keepers. The other three have a comparable average and since Kirmani played most games Down Under, he will be the wicket-keeper of this side.

#4 All Rounders

Let us look at the all-rounders options.

Kapil Dev

In the 1981 tour, India was 1 down going into the third and the last match of the series. India posted 237 in the first innings on the back of Gundappa Vishwanath's hundred. A hundred from Allan Border let Australia score 419 in the first innings. India, trailing by 182, in the second innings showed an improved performance in the second innings, scoring 324 thus setting a total of just 143 for Australia to chase in the fourth innings.

But the Indian bowlers bowled their hearts out. Kapil Dev led the bowling attack by picking 5 wickets for just 28 runs and India won the game by 59 runs. With this win, India was able to draw the series for the first time.

In eleven Tests against Australia, Kapil Dev has scored 355 runs including 2 fifties. Whereas in bowling he picked 51 wickets at an impressive average of 24.58. He picked 5 fifers in those 11 games. And without a doubt, he will be the bowling all-rounder in the side.

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Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri in 6 games scored 391 runs at an average of 55.85. He scored his highest score of 206 in Australia. In bowling, he picked 19 wickets at an average of 26.31 which is brilliant in comparison to his career average of 40.96. He will be the spin bowling all-rounder in the side.

#5 Seamers

Let us look at the options for the seamers slot.

Ajit Agarkar

Agarkar picked 27 wickets in 7 matches in Australia at an average of 35.07. He also picked a fifer. He is one of the highest wicket-takers among the Indian seamers.

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Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath struggled in Australia. In 8 games he picked 20 wickets at an average of over 50.

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Zaheer Khan

Zaheer also doesn't have great stats in Australia. In 7 games he picked 25 wickets at an average of 35.08. He has a fifer to his name in Australia.

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Ishant Sharma

Ishant in 10 Tests in Australia picked 20 wickets at a very high average of 62.15. Though he wasn't able to pick a fifer in Australia, he will be remembered for his tough spell against Ponting wherein he bothered the batsman in 2008.

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Ajit Agarkar takes the first seamer's position because of his number of wickets and his average is also a lot better than most of the others. Zaheer Khan's average is on the higher side but he takes the second seamer's position because he had pace and experience and hence would be able to trouble the batsmen.

#6 Spinners

Australian conditions are not spin friendly and spinners need to work really hard to pick wickets in Australia. Even the legendary spinner Muralitharan struggled in the Australian conditions and he could pick just 12 wickets in 7 games at an average of over 75. Warne was exceptional in the Australian conditions by picking 319 wickets in 69 games at an average of 26.39.

Let us look at the spinners options.

Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble, in 10 games in Australia, scored 296 runs at an average of 22.76 and scored 1 fifty. In bowling, he picked 49 wickets at an average of 37.73 which is higher than his career average of 29.65. He also picked 4 five-wicket hauls.

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Harbhajan Singh

Bhajji, like Laxman, was a different player when playing against Australia. He picked 95 wickets in just 18 games against Australia including 7 five-wicket hauls. But in Australia, he couldn't replicate the same as he just picked 9 wickets from 4 games at an average of over 73. But he did score 161 runs at an average of 26.83 including 2 fifties.

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Bishan Singh Bedi

Bishan Singh Bedi, in 7 matches picked 35 wickets at an average of 27.51. He also picked 3 five-wicket hauls. His performance in Australia is unlike the other spinners who struggled to pick wickets. He will be the other spinner in the side alongside Ravi Shastri.

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It is shocking to see so many big names missing this list. Names like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are missing from the list. Laxman and Harbhajan who have a phenomenal record against the Aussies are also missing from the list. Legendary bowlers like Kumble and Srinath are also not a part of this eleven.

The contenders for the captain in the side are Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli has captained in only one game so the actual fight is between Gavaskar and Kapil. Gavaskar takes the captain's role because it was under his captaincy that the Indian side managed to draw the series of 1981 1-1. Kapil Dev will be the vice-captain of this side.

Final Eleven:

Sunil Gavaskar(C), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Mohinder Amarnath, Syed Kirmani, Kapil Dev(VC), Ravi Shastri, Bishan Singh Bedi, Ajit Agarkar, and Zaheer Khan.