India's expected Test squad against Australia

India will be playing a full-fledged tour against Australia down under, commencing with a three-match T20I series followed by a Test series which gets underway in November. This may very well be the last Test series that India plays before starting the preparation of the World Cup.

India may not have won the Test series in England, but they can take heart from the fact that they ran the host so close. If they manage to do the same against this depleted Aussie team sans Smith and Warner, then this will be a golden opportunity for the Indian team to register their first series win down under.

Here is the best possible squad that the selectors can opt for this long and gruelling Test match series.

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#1 Openers - KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Murali Vijay

Had a successful beginning in Australia.

One of the main causes of worry in this Indian batting line-up is the starts given by the openers at the top. They have been largely inconsistent and often fail to convert good starts if they get one to a more substantial score.

India will most probably go with a tried and tested combination of Murali Vijay and KL Rahul for the first Test even after their disappointing show in England series. Vijay, in particular, has to perform well as this could be his last opportunity and could be selected for this tour on the back of a good county stint that he is currently having. Rahul usually plays well in fast, and bouncy pitches and this will definitely suit his style of play.

Prithvi Shaw is a future star waiting in the wings and will get a look in case one of the regulars fail to get going.

#2 Top Order- Virat Kohli (Captain), Cheteshwar Pujara

Pillars of Indian Batting.

Virat Kohli will be leading the Indian side against Australia which apparently happens to his favourite opponent. He has a good record against them in Test cricket and will look to bring his 'A' game into this particular essay. Australia is the place where Kohli started his realm as a captain, and the circle will be complete if he is able to lead his side to a memorable series win over the host.

Pujara has been the mainstay for India with the bat over the years and had a good outing in England after being dropped for the first Test. One of the positives is that all the above-mentioned players have a great record in Australian conditions in the past.

#3 Middle Order- Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Karun Nair, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik

He needs to have a good outing.

Ajinkya Rahane, along with Vijay, was considered as the best Indian batsman playing in overseas conditions, but they are a pale shadow of themselves right now. They can turn around this patch with a strong showing in Australia. Rahane looked confident in the later stages of England series and will look to continue that form going to the series.

Hanuma Vihari had a decent start to his career with both bat and ball in his debut Test match against England and will be likely selected for this tour.

Karun Nair will be considering himself unlucky as he did not feature in the playing eleven despite being selected ahead of Vihari but one can hope he will be getting a chance against The Windies before this Australian tour.

Rishabh Pant will start as the first choice wicketkeeper ahead of Karthik who had a disappointing comeback outing in England, whereas Pant scored his maiden Test hundred against them in a difficult fourth innings pitch.

# 4 All-rounders- Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja

The team has some strong allrounders.

The spin duo, along with Hardik Pandya, will form a trio of all-rounders who are likely to find a place in the Test squad for Australia tour. Pandya will have ample time to recover from his injury, and this could be a blessing in disguise for him to come back stronger than ever.

Ashwin is a proven performer and will relish the fact that they are up against not so strong batting line-up of Australia this time around. His partner in crime Jadeja has been a revelation, to say the least, and will look to make a mark whenever he gets an opportunity.

#5 Fast Bowlers- Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj/Umesh Yadav

One of the best bowling attacks.

One of the main reasons why the team came close to winning a Test series overseas is the fact that there is an emergence of a plethora of fast bowlers, which was not the case in the past decade. The current Indian pace attack is one of the best in the world, and the high thing is that there is a good bench strength.

Ishant, along with Bumrah and Shami, has led the pace attack well in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With the latter returning from injury there will be a problem of plenty for the team management. While regular bowlers select themselves, Umesh Yadav, who has had an inconsistent career so far, or the impressive Md Siraj will get a look as a reserve pacer for this long tour.