Strongest  Indian playing XI for the Test series in Australia

#2 Middle order - Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane

England v India: Specsavers 4th Test - Day Two

Pujara is a masterful batsman and has the technique to succeed well at the test level. He has excellent test record with an average nearing 50 and has scored 15 centuries. He has been criticized for scoring well in only subcontinent conditions where his batting average is over 60. He recently responded to his by scoring a brilliant 132 against England and proved that he definitely has the game to become the backbone of the Indian team. He needs to carry his form from England to Australia to help India compete well.

Kohli is a cricketing great who possesses a knack of producing magnificent hundreds and has been the mainstay of Indian batting for a long time. He has delivered the goods when others have failed to provide substantial batting support to him. He has a superb batting record in Australia with five centuries and 992 runs in just 8 matches. Kohli just needs to do what perform in his usual fantastic way and wish that others also play well for India to win the series.

Rahane is India's most dependable middle-order batsman when playing abroad after Kohli. He has scored 6 of his 10 centuries outside India. He has an average of 46.32 while playing abroad which is higher than his overall career average of 40.91. He needs to perform to the best of his abilities to help India do well in Australia.