Doull said the upcoming series, starting January 19, will be a real test for New Zealand.
"We've seen the ramble that has been the West Indies come and go - now the Black Caps have got their big summer task ahead of them: a one-day series against the world's best at that format, India. It's going to be a hell of a hard task to win this series. India are extremely good," he said.
The 44-year-old Doull, who featured in 32 Test matches and 42 ODIs for the Black Caps, said the pitches in New Zealand will hold no concerns for the Indians.
"Look at Napier - a hard, fast quick surface that doesn't go sideways; same with Hamilton and Auckland - plenty of runs in both those wickets. They will love them."
Doull, whose international came to a premature end following back and knee injuries, said the hosts should keep an eye on a couple of new guys in the India line-up.
"Stuart Binny is a genuine allrounder - a powerful hitter, who bowls some sneaky medium pace that could play well on the Kiwi pitches. Varun Aaron is a quick for the Delhi Daredevils and should catch the eye. He has been having injury worries on and off for the past two years.
"A bit like Umesh Yadev, he's got genuine pace - and is a guy they've got an eye on to the future for seam bowling.
India in the past decade have struggled to find genuine quicks - but they've got actually got a good group of seamers now," he said.
Doull said a 3-2 result, win or lose, will be a good series tally for the hosts.
Doull said he would be interested to see what the Black Caps do with their bowling attack.
"I believe Adam Milne deserves a good opportunity. He got only two overs in Queenstown against the Windies - and is worth a shot early in the series against India. We need to see whether he has the ability to foot it at this level.
"There are a couple of questions for the top batting order. Martin Guptill's innings in Nelson against the West Indies would have done him a lot of good, because he was coming back into the team and still finding his place. He's got to make sure that Jesse Ryder doesn't have to swing all the time and create all the strike-rate.
"The continued development of Kane Williamson at first drop is key. Going down the order, Luke Ronchi really has to show us something in this series. He has promised a lot and they've backed him - but we haven't seen much from him as a New Zealand international yet," he concluded.
