Michael Hussey picks Mitchell Starc as the key against Virat Kohli

"I think Starc is a brilliant bowler for the sub-continental conditions. He bowls at a genuine pace, can swing the new ball and is an excellent exponent of reverse swing. I am sure he will challenge Kohli throughout the series. It will, however, take a collective effort to stop Kohli, who has been phenomenal of late," Hussey said, reported PTI.

However, Hussey added that it wasn't just the pacer who would play a big part in the final result of the series. "Mr Cricket" said that Steve Smith would need to trust his spinners Nathan Lyon and rookie Steve O'Keefe for long spells during the games.

"He (Steve Smith) has experience of playing in India, which is important both in Tests and at the IPL. I feel he needs to show a lot of faith and patience with his spinners and get the field right, with a nice balance of attacking and defending," Hussey explained.

If there is anyone who knows anything about being reliable, it is Hussey, who averaged an impressive 49 runs against India. Hussey said that the run-scoring responsibility now fell on the shoulders of David Warner and Steve Smith. Warner has been on a good run of his own in recent times scoring back-to-back centuries against Pakistan in the recently concluded series.

"There is always a lot of pressure on Warner and Steve Smith to score big runs for Australia. The good thing is that they are both very hungry for runs and love batting. India will be a huge challenge for both players but I am sure they are very determined to have an impact on the series," Hussey added.

Following the conclusion of the Pakistan series, the Australian team travelled to Dubai in order to acclimatise themselves to subcontinental conditions and hired Monty Panesar as a spin consultant. Hussey praised Cricket Australia for the initiative but was critical about the team playing just one warm-up match in India.

"This tour of India has been a big focus for Cricket Australia for some time now and the preparation has been meticulous. Whether that transcends into performance on the field remains to be seen but the preparation has certainly been thorough.

"I would have perhaps like to have seen a few more warm up matches in India to cap off the preparations," he said.

When asked what advice he would give rookies Matt Renshaw or Peter Handscomb, Hussey replied, "Back your defence and have ways to get off strike. Be prepared to work very hard for long, long periods of time."