New Delhi: Team India is yet to leave for Australia for the four-match test series and legendary fast bowler Glenn McGrath have already sent a warning to the visitors, predicting a 4-0 whitewash in this summer.
He believes that unless India can grip the Australian conditions, they would be left one-sided against the hosts in upcoming test series starting fron December 4.
"We won 4-0 over here (2011-12), they won 4-0 (2012-13) over there. Potentially, I think, it's going to be exactly the same when they come here," McGrath was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday.
"I have no issues with saying, I think it'll be 4-0," McGrath told The Sydney Morning Herald. "The way the Australian team played last season over here, they were awesome. If they can get anywhere near that, they'll win and win quite convincingly," the fast-bowling legend said.
"I saw India play the last three Test matches in the UK and by the end of it, they were a bit of a rabble. They're still a quality one-day and T20 team but they've got a bit of work to do at Test level, especially on the bouncy wickets over here. Historically they've never played well with a bit of bounce and seam. They're going to have their work cut out for them," he added.
India, however, will arrive in with their confidence up after a 5-0 clean sweep against Sri Lanka in the 50-over format but their recent Test form has been poor," the newspaper highlighted.
Despite all the rumblings of a fragile looking batting line-up, specially considering the trouble with Australian captain Michael Clarke's fitness and their recent form against Pakistan, McGrath is confident that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side are clearly not the favorites and will not be able to test the home side in the five-day format of the game.
Reminding about the 5-0 whitwash of England in the Ashes Series 2013-14 on their home soil, he insisted that Indian batsmen will find it very hard to judge the deliveries by their pacers like Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris.
Continuing his take on India's poor overseas record, he said, “ Unable to handle the extra bounce and pace on Australian wickets, the Indians have a pathetic Test record on these shores, having won just two of 23 Tests here since 1985... Those victories were produced by a side containing greats such as (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Rahul) Dravid and (VVS) Laxman. There is no batsman of that calibre in this touring party.”
India's best performance in a Test series Down Under is the 1-1 draw in 2003-04 under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy when they retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They have won just five Test matches on Australian soil.
India last won a Test series outside the sub-continent when they beat West Indies in 2011. The last five overseas Test tours have ended in defeat for the Indian team - two in England (2011 and 2014), 1 in Australia (2011-12), 1 in South Africa (2013) and 1 in New Zealand (2014).
