India's best Test XI for overseas conditions
India started as the number one team in the start of 2018, and they will be number one at the beginning of 2019 as well. Virat Kohli, in the process, has become the first Asian captain to register Test wins in South Africa, England and Australia.
He has already won Test matches in Sri Lanka and West Indies. The master batsman is also in touching distance of overhauling Ganguly's 11 overseas wins and MS Dhoni's 27 Test wins as an Indian captain.
Indian Test team under Kohli is doing most things right. They are already a formidable force in home conditions and no team even remotely stands a chance in sub-continental conditions and press for a series win. India usually scores big in home conditions and touring teams wilt under mounting scoreboard pressure.
There was enough proof of this when England had visited India in 2016/17, where the Englishmen scored over 400 on two occasions and still lost both those Tests by an innings margin.
India's real Test was on the foreign shores, and they have done reasonably well. South Africa and England might not have gone their way, but there was a lot of promise shown. With a bit of luck, maybe India would have been triumphant. However, India's performances against Australia has given a lot of hope to many that Indian cricket team is set to dominate the arena in the next few years.
Virat Kohli is the world's best batsman and an aggressive captain who thinks only about winning. India also has a strong batting line-up with the likes of Pujara and Rahane. The young batsmen like Mayank, Prithvi Shaw and Vihari have shown they have the class to succeed in International cricket. But it's the bowling that makes it exciting for Team India.
India probably is the only side in the world which has an artillery of fast bowlers and an army of spinners. India's recent overseas performances showed that they did not allow any opposition to score 400. Only three centuries (one each from Cook, Root and Buttler) were scored against India in 2018. This clearly shows that India can knock any opposition irrespective of the conditions.
If Indian team management can pick the right teams and keep its players fit, they will be firm favourites going into the World Test Championship in 2021.