BANGALORE — Horses for courses. Like the punter with a habit that can’t be kicked, visiting cricket teams keep looking to these so-called subcontinent specialists to make a difference.

Most often though, Indian players treat them with all the respect accorded to nags destined for the knacker’s yard.

Zafar Ansari and Gareth Batty were England’s horses for courses. Ansari scored 36 and took 3 for 163 in the two Tests he played. Batty’s only outing ended with figures of 0 for 65.

Once Ansari went home injured, Liam Dawson was drafted in as the left-arm finger-spinner who could bat a bit. He made a doughty unbeaten 66 in his debut innings, but finished with 2 for 129 as India raised their highest total in 84 years of Test cricket – 7 for 759 declared.

With less than six weeks to go until the first Test in India, many in Australia seem to be obsessing about the spin component of the squad. Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe were the tweakers in the last Test Australia played, and should be in the XI that takes the field in Pune.

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Australia’s selectors should keep things simple in India. Source: AAP

Time and again, selectors and team managements succumb to myths about Indian conditions and come up with quirky, out-of-the-box solutions that leave Indian players wetting their trousers – from laughing so hard.

Ahead of this tour, the need of the hour appears to be a leg-spinner. Unless scientists find a way to resurrect Richie Benaud, don’t even bother. Benaud took 52 wickets at 18.38 in his eight Tests in India. But that was at a time when Indian cricket lacked confidence, when it was still finding its feet.

Shane Warne has been talking up Queensland’s Mitchell Swepson in recent weeks. He, of all people, should know better. Nowhere did Warne struggle as he did in India, where his 34 wickets cost 43 apiece. Before Warne, we had Abdul Qadir. The original ‘Sheik of Tweak’ took six wickets in six Tests at 69.16.

If someone with Warne’s immaculate control struggled so – granted that he was playing against an incredibly gifted line-up – what hope is there for a leggie who can’t land it on a sixpence? Adil Rashid took 23 wickets in the recent series for England, but went at 3.7 runs an over.

By the time Rashid came to India, he had bowled more than 26,000 deliveries in first-class cricket. That’s quite an apprenticeship. Swepson hasn’t bowled 2000 yet. He took four wickets against India A last September, but would surely be better served if used as a wildcard option in the Ashes next summer. An Indian line-up with Virat Kohli in prime form is less likely to be a baptism by fire, and more a roasting.

If you look at the overseas bowlers that have excelled in India, six of the top ten wicket-takers are pace bowlers. For Australia, Graham McKenzie, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath and Alan Davidson all averaged less than 22 while picking up 30 or more wickets in India.

It would be a huge gamble playing Mitchell Swepson in India. Source: News Corp Australia

When the team captained by Adam Gilchrist won in India in 2004 – Australia’s only success since the year of the moon landings (1969) – they did so with Gillespie in magnificent form. McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz provided sterling support. They bowled tight lines, dried up the Indian boundaries and waited for the mistakes. With the exception of the irrepressible Virender Sehwag, not one Indian batsman managed even 200 runs across the four Tests. VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar combined for three half-centuries in 18 innings.

O’Keefe has impeccable first-class credentials, and he offers control, without which you have no hope of winning in India. Adam Zampa averages 50 with the ball in red-ball cricket, while conceding four an over. Whatever his white-ball feats or IPL numbers, it would be a stretch to suggest he’s a better Test option.

Australia should pick their best bowlers, regardless of whether they bowl spin or pace. When it comes to the batting though, there’s certainly a case to be made for those adept against the turning ball, more so if they have experience of these conditions.

You don’t need to have the footwork of Fred Astaire, but it helps. If you’re even slightly confused about where your feet should go, as Ben Duckett was, then Ravichandran Ashwin and friends will chew you up and spit you out.

Matt Renshaw is clearly one for the future, but Shaun Marsh has enjoyed his best times as a Test batsman in Sri Lanka, on similar pitches. Both he and Glenn Maxwell – of the will-he-won’t-he selection conundrum – have plenty of IPL experience, and aren’t afraid to go over the top. The worst thing you can do against India is let them bowl to you. Even if you survive 143.1 overs, as South Africa did in a remarkable block-a-thon in Delhi in December 2015, India will prevail.

Maxwell may fail as often as he succeeds, and his off-spin may not be of Ashley Mallett (28 wickets in 1969-70) quality, but he has the ability to transform a match in an hour of unorthodox mayhem. Spinners hate a batsman who can drive, sweep or reverse-sweep the same ball for four. He will give them chances, but also won’t let them wheel away for maiden after maiden. If the other all-round option is Hilton Cartwright, who has no experience of Indian conditions, then the Maxwell selection should be a no-brainer.

Last but not least, always pick your best wicketkeeper. Matthew Wade made just 113 runs in three Tests in India in 2013. If Peter Nevill’s glovework is slicker, he should on that plane. Dropped catches and stumpings cost England over 600 runs in the last three Tests alone. You don’t want to give those freebies to a team that’s won 14 of its last 18 Tests.

The XI I’d pick for Pune: Matt Renshaw, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (capt), Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill (wk), Mitchell Starc, Steve O’Keefe, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.

The other five: Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, James Pattinson (my bolter), Ashton Agar, Travis Head.

Dileep Premachandran is editor-in-chief of Wisden India. You can follow him on Twitter @SpiceBoxofEarth