A Test series against Australia is a transformative experience after which an individual 'goes back a better cricketer' is what head coach Gautam Gambhir and some of the star senior players have been trying to instill in the younger members of the team on their first tour 'Down Under'.
It will be a baptism of fire for several young Indian players, with the visitors naming as many as eight squad members who have never played a Test match on Australian soil.
The likes of Yashaswi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna, all of them on their maiden tours will have plenty to prove during the marquee series, starting in Parth from November 22.
And who better than the troika of Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, both on their fifth Test tours (2011-12, 14-15, 18-19, 20-21) and Jasprit Bumrah, who is on his third red ball tour (2018-19, 20-21) to share their invaluable learnings from the past series.
"Gauti bhai (Gambhir) had a chat with the boys just before we started, we had some of the senior boys as well," India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said in video posted by bcci.tv. on Thursday.
"Booms (Bumrah), Virat , Ash (Ashwin) having a chat with the guys how first they came here as youngsters with a lot of seniors around and how they sort of felt that once you finish an Australia series you go back a better cricketer."
"I think the young boys are very keen, raring to go and hopefully make a name for themselves by the end of this tour.
"It's one of the toughest challenges for an Indian cricketer coming here and overcoming it," Nayar added.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel described the series as "a showpiece on the international calendar" and predicted that both teams would go hard at each other in every session.
"I think it's a showpiece on the international calendar since it's going to be teams that not going to give anybody an inch or a sniff and it is going to be hard-fought sessions," Morkel said.
"I'm hopeful for the five Test matches is hard. Five days of cricket when you sit after the day's play and you take your shoes off and say 'Listen, I have given it all'," he added.
Since 2014-15, Australia have not been able to lay their hands on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with India winning four consecutive series including the historic triumphs Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
India are the only Asian nation to beat the Australia at their backyard in a Test series.
They are the only team Australia have failed to defeat in their last 16 Test series.
"It's become a big part of Indian cricket to come here and do well. It's obviously a very proud moment that India won here twice in the last two times as well as winning it in India," assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said.
