It will also be the first time in nine months that medium-pacer Renuka Singh Thakur will be back in India colours after recovering from a back injury. Since Jhulan Goswami retired, the 29-year-old has shouldered the responsibility of being India’s spearhead.

“Since Renuka made international debut, she has been playing almost non-stop . The workload took a toll on her body. She worked hard at Centre of Excellence under the trainers and physios in order to get fit for the World Cup,” said her coach Pawan Sen.

India would not only hope to see Thakur make an impact in the three-match series and get back her rhythm but also bank on its spinners to deliver the goods by making the most of the conditions.

“As she has not played competitive cricket for five months, she will be a bit rusty. She should use the three ODIs against Australia to warm-up for the upcoming World Cup campaign,” said former India pacer Amita Sharma, who played 116 ODIs with 87 dismissals.

India’s medium-pacers, in particular, have been injury prone. Pooja Vastrakar, Titas Sidhu and Kashvee Gautam have struggled with fitness. However, their absence has allowed a talented medium-pacer from Madhya Pradesh, 22-year-old Kranti Goud , to make her mark during the England tour.

“I feel Indian bowling lacks variety. If there could be a leg-spinner in the team it could have made a huge difference. As compared to this, the Australians have impactful medium-pacers, leg-spinner, off-spinner and also left-arm spinners,” she added.

“The three ODIs could not only act as preparation for the World Cup for India but also be eye-opening. Australia are defending champions and certainly strong contenders for the World Cup trophy as well,” said Amita Sharma.

Arundhati Reddy and Amanjot Kaur will add to the mix but they are likely to be back-ups.

India should be thrilled to have found 21-year-old left-arm spinner N Shree Charani. After a break, India have found a genuine match-winning spinner who can turn the match around with her bowling.

The Australians must have done their homework on Charani and it will be interesting to see how she fares in the three-match series and later in the World Cup.

Off-spinners Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana will bring in the experience. Since the 2017 ODI World Cup high, spinners like Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht and later Rajeshwari Gayakwad have fizzled away but Sharma has gone on from strength to strength.

Rana has worked a lot not only on her fitness but also skill. It was evident when she emerged as player of the tournament in the tri-nation cup in Sri Lanka. With left-arm spinner Radha Yadav also available, India spin bowling attack looks solid.

“Youngsters like Shree Charani and Kranti Goud were impressive in England but when they play a team like Australia they will be under pressure. In such cases, experience takes over. I feel spinners Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma could be India’s mainstay bowlers against Australia and then in the World Cup,” said Amita Sharma.