Sydney/Mumbai: Analysis of Australia and India squad before the four-Test series, which starts in Adelaide on Tuesday.
Top order:
Australia:
David Warner will be one of the first names on the team sheet after a brilliant year in which he has scored 1,199 test runs at 74.93.
India will not have forgotten the 69-ball century he scored against them in Perth three years ago, the foundation for his career-best 180.
Chris Rogers has had a less successful time, particularly in the recent 2-0 series defeat against Pakistan, but got back among the runs in state cricket and his growing understanding with Warner has value in itself.
Number three in the order has become a problem for Australia with the most recent incumbents Alex Doolan and Glenn Maxwell joining a string of discards at "first drop".
It was this spot that Phillip Hughes would most likely have filled had he not died when batting to earn a recall.
Shane Watson, who occupied the berth during Australia's Ashes sweep of England, prefers to play as high up the order as possible and will need to be fitted in somewhere.
Who bats at number four will depend on the hamstring of Michael Clarke with Shaun Marsh ready to step in if the skipper fails to prove his fitness for Adelaide.
India:
India will have the flamboyant Shikhar Dhawan and the relatively calm Murali Vijay to see off the new ball against Australia's fiery pace attack.
Dhawan failed to score a 50 in six innings in England before losing his place at the top of the order and will need to be more compact with his technique on the bouncy Australian pitches.
Cheteshwar Pujara did not have a great 2014 in tests and will have to do more to justify the comparisons the enthusiastic Indian media has drawn between him and the retired Rahul Dravid, who he replaced at number three.
Virat Kohli impressed during India's 4-0 drubbing the last time they toured Australia and the visitors will depend heavily on the 26-year-old right-hander if they are to fare any better this time around.
Read: Hughes casts long shadow over India, Australia series
Middle order:
Australia:
Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh, in his first two tests, were among Australia's few success stories in the Pakistan series and are almost certain to bat at numbers five and six.
Smith scored three half centuries in the Emirates and then showed he could play higher up the order by winning Man of the Series honours in the recent one-day triumph over South Africa.
Brad Haddin, who has recovered from a shoulder injury, will retain the wicketkeeping gloves and could captain the side in his 60th test if Clarke is not fit.
Mitchell Johnson, who boasts one century and nine half centuries in tests, adds a little more length to the tail.
India:
Ajinkya Rahane will bat at number five and the stylish right-hander, whose technique and temperament are his biggest assets, will have an ideal opportunity to seal his spot in the batting line-up.
Rohit Sharma's stunning return in the one day series against Sri Lanka after an injury lay-off might just tip the scales in his favour against Suresh Raina for the last available batting spot if India opt to play with four specialist bowlers.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dhoni, who has been ruled out of the first test with an injury (before the series was pushed back following Phillip Hughes's death), was India's second highest run-scorer in England and the team will need him the carry the same form into Australia if the top order is exposed early.
Read: Batsmen get solid match-practice as India vs CA XI game ends in a draw
All-rounders:
Australia:
A real area of strength for Australia.
Mitchell Marsh's powerful batting and ability to get some serious pace with the ball has earned him the spot as the designated all rounder in the team.
Watson could also lay claim to the tag and has shown a knack for taking wickets at key moments over the years, while Smith started his career as a spinner who could bat and can still bring out his leg spin when required.
India:
India lack a genuine seam-bowling all-rounder and paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar's gritty show with the bat in England will give them hopes of filling that vital cog in their team.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will fight for the spinning all-rounder's position if India decide to field just one slow bowler on the pace-friendly pitches in Australia.
Seam bowling:
Australia:
Pace bowling was one of the keys to Australia's 4-0 humbling of India three years ago and chief selector Rod Marsh boasted there were 10 quicks of sufficient quality to feature in the series.
ICC Cricketer of the Year Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle should get the chance to reprise their successful team effort against England and South Africa.
Uncapped Josh Hazlewood is in the squad for the Adelaide test and first cab on the rank, with left-armer Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile and even Pat Cummins also in the mix if Australia go for a rotation policy.
India:
Ishant Sharma is expected to spearhead India's inexperienced pace attack with Kumar the only other bowler certain to find a spot in the starting team.
While Sharma will be expected to hit the deck hard on the helpful Australia pitches, Kumar is adept at swinging the ball both ways.
The third seamer's spot will be a toss-up between Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami, with Aaron catching the eye with his pace and control in the first warm-up match in Australia.
Spin bowling:
Australia
It sometimes appears as if offspinner Nathan Lyon is in the squad by default because of the dearth of quality in an area where Australia once boasted such riches.
The 27-year-old knows that 11 wickets at the cost of 66.72 runs apiece in five tests in South Africa and against Pakistan this year is not good enough and will be looking for a great improvement on home soil.
India:
Left-arm spinner Jadeja has been preferred over off-spinner Ashwin in the past when India play abroad and field one slow bowler in their team.
The performance in the warm-up games leading up to the test series might prove crucial for the spinners with both almost equally matched in batting.
Leg-spinner Karn Sharma, untried in tests, is the other slow option and might get a look in if things go horribly wrong with India's attack.
