India's transition could make for a tough tour Down Under

NEW DELHI : As whispers about the waning powers of India's batting stalwarts and the advancing years of their spin veterans grow louder, the five-test series in Australia marks the beginning of a tricky transition for the side.

India have been a formidable test team for the last decade and had not lost a series on home soil for 12 years until New Zealand snapped that streak with a stunning whitewash earlier this month.

They made the first two World Test Championship finals, albeit losing both, while winning their last two test series in Australia further burnished their credentials in the longest format of the game.

That sheen has dimmed of late, however, with the confident swagger and aggression they displayed on their tours of Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21 much less evident.

Much of that is down to the diminishing returns from batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

With more than 27,000 runs in international cricket, including 80 hundreds, Kohli's legacy as a modern batting great is secure but the 36-year-old is currently in the midst of a run drought that shows no signs of abating.

He has managed just two test hundreds in the last five years and only two fifties in his last 14 innings, looking particularly vulnerable to left-arm spin.

Famed for his insatiable hunger for runs, it has been almost painful for Kohli's legion of fans to watch him scratch around at the crease before trudging back to the pavilion.

India's top order crisis has only deepened with skipper Rohit also battling age and lack of form.

The 37-year-old opener has just one fifty in his last 10 test innings and his susceptibility to early swing will have not gone unnoticed by the Australians.

BOWLING WOES

With Kohli and Rohit misfiring, the pressure