India need to sort out their inadequacies in batting before standing up to an "extremely strong" bowling attack later this year Down Under, feels former Australia captain Ian Chappell.
Virat Kohli's India will hope for redemption in Australia after Test series reverses in South Africa and England.
"India now have to look on rehabilitating their reputation in the highly anticipated series against Australia but the batting inadequacies have to be addressed," Chappell wrote in 'ESPNcricinfo.com'.
"While Australia's batting is questionable, with their two best players, Steven Smith and David Warner, missing through suspension, the bowling attack is still extremely strong."
"If Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Patrick Cummins and Nathan Lyon remain fit then the Indian batsmen will be in for a challenging time. In England it was movement through the air and off the seam that created regular problems for them - apart from Virat Kohli - but it will be the extra bounce in Australia that sorts the men from the men."
Chappell further said, "A confident and in-form Rohit Sharma would be an ideal player to bolster the batting in Australia. His authoritative horizontal bat shots are perfectly designed to cope with the testing extra bounce, but sadly Rohit has never really come to grips with batting in Test cricket. Selecting him for the tour would be a gamble."
The batting great termed India's 4-1 loss to England a "missed opportunity"
Apart from Cheteshwar Pujara, no player was prepared to alter the offspinner's flight path by leaving his crease. The series loss is even more of a wasted opportunity when you consider how well the Indian fast bowlers performed."
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