Is playing in India so hard for visitors? Here's Ian Chappell's reply

Inform Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 72 wickets in 2016England has been banished and the next victim in Indias sights is Australia Its reached the point where even someone as positive as excaptain Ricky Ponting says ldquoAs long as they can find a way to be really competitive through the Test series I dont think itll be that big a deal if Australia loserdquoAustralias tour of India is looming as a repeat of that macabre scene from Monty Pythons Holy Grail ldquoBring out your deadrdquoAwesome dominanceIs it really that hard playing in India Well it is if you go by the records Amazingly India has lost only one of its last 20 series at home and that was to England in 201213 Before that it was Australia in 200405 when India felt the sting of defeat at homeWhat makes this feat even more remarkable is that many of the overseas players now regularly tour India playing in the highly successful IPL tournamentIn theory overseas players should be more comfortable playing in India rather than becoming increasingly estranged However it seems that lessons learned playing T20 cricket bear no relationship to performing in the Test arena It could also mean Indian teams are stronger than those of the pastTheres no doubt India has a strong batting lineup but thats been the case for more than two decades Since the advent of the IPL Indias fielding apart from slip catching and athleticism has improved greatlyHowever spin bowling which has been the chief reason behind the demise of visiting teams is another matter From the late 1960s into the mid1970s India were extremely well served with Erapalli Prasanna Bishan Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar a trio of wily highly competitive spinnersGreat 196970 sideNevertheless when the 196970 Australian team toured I felt we could win in India This was based on having a batting lineup that was adept at playing spin in addition to a fine pace bowler in Graham McKenzie and an extremely good offspinner in Ashley MallettI believed we could accumulate 300 runs in the first innings under most conditions and that would keep us competitive We achieved that target in all but one Test which we won as the Madras pitch was a difficult oneThose Australian players toured India after a winter working at their respective jobs two weeks in Ceylon now Sri Lanka and one leadup match against West Zone I didnt plan to change my style of batting in India but I did make some minor adjustments during the seriesContrast that build up with the preparation planned for the current Australian side It includes some players practicing on specially prepared pitches in Brisbane with English spinner Monty Panesar joining the sessions a spinoriented training camp in Dubai and consultant coach Sridharan Sriram advising on how to play in IndiaAll these wellintentioned endeavours may help a little but in some cases they could hinder Learning to play spin bowling efficiently starts at a young age and for someone who is a little unsure a concentrated stint on turning pitches could lead to confusion At the very least it might result in a player formulating a plan that he discovers doesnt work under match conditions and hes then left flounderingOne thing that intrigues me about the modern concept of playing spin bowling is risk assessment In many cases leaving the crease is not seen as an option but playing premeditated shots which present far more risk are attempted without a second thoughtDont sweep everythingTheres an obsession with sweeping which in all but rare cases is not the way to dominate good spinners who are well captainedCombating good spinners is about learning the lesson of quick decisive footwork at a young age rather than cramming for a difficult exam at the last minuteIf the Australian batsmen are in the pavilion unsure or confused about how to play R Ashwin and company the crowd noise will have a ring to it that sounds a lot like that dreaded cry ldquoBring out your deadrdquo