Although household names on the subcontinent, this touring party will be one of the least recognisable to have come from India for many years.

The Indians, who arrive in Adelaide on Saturday, will not be unfamiliar by the time they leave, not least because they will have been on these shores for more than four months, playing four Tests and at least another four one-day internationals followed by the World Cup.

Glenn McGrath has already forecast his customary whitewash, which, if correct, would make it three consecutive 4-0 outcomes in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

His prediction is based on what he saw from India in the final three Tests of their series in England during the northern summer, which produced a 266-run loss and two innings defeats.

Even a former member of India's coaching staff, Joe Dawes, is expecting the visitors to find the going tough in the Tests, particularly for their batsmen.

But Dawes, the country's former bowling coach and a former Queensland quick, believes India has the pace bowling capable of exploiting Australia's weaknesses with the bat.

THE PACEMEN

Ishant Sharma will lead an Indian pace attack which Dawes expects to pose plenty of problems for Australia's top seven, particularly if Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin do not prove their fitness.

Their attack contains a speedster, Varun Aaron, who will provide fierce competition to Mitchell Johnson as the fastest bowler in the series, and three others - Ishant, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami - who can bowl above the 140 km/h mark.

They will be complemented by the swing of bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was named earlier this week as the BCCI's international player of the year.

"Varun can bowl fast. He can bowl 150 [km/h], he's done so regularly, he's got good pace," Dawes says.

"If they use him properly, I think he can be a real handful because he can bowl fast.

"I wouldn't underestimate the pace attack that they're bringing, there's plenty of pace there.

"Haddin saved them a fair bit last year. If he doesn't pull up or Clarke doesn't, they'll be vulnerable."

THE BATTING

Just as the men wearing the baggy green have traditionally struggled with the slow, low turners of the subcontinent, so too have India's batsmen on the fast and bouncy wickets of Australia.

Adjusting to such foreign conditions will again be the biggest obstacle to success for India, says Dawes.

India's batsmen failed to make the adjustment in England where five frontline batsmen averaged less than 30 during the five-match series. Four have survived for this tour - Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Opener Dhawan made 187 in his only Test innings against Australia but, Dawes says, has a technique which will make him susceptible to the extra bounce in this country.

"He's got an unusual grip and back lift which doesn't allow him to deal with it as well as more conventional techniques," Dawes says.

Dhawan's opening partner, Murali Vijay, topped India's averages in England and was also the leading run-scorer when Australia toured last year.

"He puts a real price on his wicket. He dealt pretty well at times with the swing and seam in England and was willing to bat a long time," Dawes says.

Pujara, the No.3, averages nearly 50 at home but only 28 on the road. Dawes describes him as an "old school" player who "just loves batting and batting and batting". Along with Kohli and Rohit Sharma, he is a player whom Dawes believes has the technical expertise to succeed in Australia.

Dawes is expecting the Australians to target Kohli, whom he believes has the potential to finish his career as an equal of Dravid and Laxman.

"I think that would be fair to expect from him," Dawes says.

A Test average just short of 40 does not back up that prediction but the 26-year-old this month became the fastest man to reach 6000 runs in the one-day international arena, achieving the milestone in his 136th innings - five quicker than the great Viv Richards.

Ajinkya Rahane was one of few Indian batsmen to hold his own in England, after making technical changes with coach Duncan Fletcher.

"He broadened his stance and it helped him get into better position with his feet to play the quicker bowlers a bit better," Dawes says.

"He's a battler, he works really hard. I think he might struggle with the pace and bounce of the Aussies."

With Dhoni injured, Dawes is expecting India to play a specialist batsman at No.6, which he thinks will pave the way for Rohit Sharma to return.

Rohit made headlines last week when he smashed a record 264 in an ODI against Sri Lanka but his away record - an average of 22 from five Tests - is poor.

THE SPINNERS

Dawes is expecting India's spinners, a major weapon on the subcontinent, to be their weakness this summer.

Ravi Ashwin is likely to get the nod ahead of left-armer Ravindra Jadeja but neither will pose too many troubles for Australia's batsmen in these conditions, says Dawes. He would like to see uncapped leggie Karn Sharma given a go.

"Spin's something I don't think they need to worry too much about, it's a real opportunity for the Aussies, I reckon, to go hard," Dawes says.