Only three England captains have secured the urn in Australia in the last 50 years, with Andrew Strauss the last in 2010/11.
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
K L Rahul eases concerns surrounding his fitness ahead of the first Test against Australia, starting in Perth, by batting comfortably in the nets on Sunday.
Virat, a player often hyped and celebrated on Australian soil, generates headlines, catchy articles and massive viewership numbers whenever he lands Down Under.
India face an ominous task to win the third Test on a fast and bouncy wicket in Perth and keep the four-match series alive which they are presently trailing 0-2.
Shafali Verma managed just 108 runs in six matches this year with 33 being the highest.
Kohli is struggling for big runs of late and his last Test century was against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023.
Harshit Rana could pose a strong challenge to senior teammate Prasidh Krishna as they battle it out for the third pacer's slot in the India playing XI for the opening Test against Australia in Perth.
He however admitted that that his batsmen could have done better on the bouncy track.
Perth's WACA ground will not host a match in Australia's summer of cricket for the first time since 1976-77, with the four Tests against India in 2014-15 to be played in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Opener Smriti Mandhana's elegant century went in vain as India lost to Australia by 83 runs in the third Women's ODI to suffer a 0-3 series whitewash
There'll be some deterioration, grass will stand up during the game and offer that variable bounce, but in terms of big snake WACA cracks, unfortunately I don't think the weather is going to get us there, says pitch curator Isaac McDonald.
India 'A' will play two first-class matches against Australia 'A' in the run-up to the marquee Border Gavaskar Trophy later this year, CA announced on Tuesday.
Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
The last time an Ashes in Australia started away from the Gabba was in 1982 when the historic foes drew at the WACA in Perth.
India have tasted a lot of success recently in Australia including back-to-back Test series wins and veteran spinner Ashwin said the team will draw confidence from that.
What happens when Rohit Sharma asked an 11 year old to bowl to him in the nets?
Mithali Raj-led India will take on Meg Lanning's Australia at the WACA ground in Perth from September 30 in what will be only the second day-night Test in women's cricket.
The friction started during India's arrival in Perth last month, when the Australian media criticised the visitors for holding private training sessions at the WACA.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed the Men's Test Player-of-the-Year award. It marked his first Australian Cricket Award, with Hazlewood taking 30 wickets at just 13.16 in Tests against the West Indies, New Zealand, and India.
Fans poured out in their numbers at the WACA to give the Indian team big support.
Ashwin's age is certainly a factor that is being kept in consideration.
With its traditionally quick and bouncy wicket playing to the strengths of home pacemen, the WACA has been a house of pain for English cricket and Australians will be hoping for more of the same when the ground hosts its final Test.
Australia is set to play two day-night Tests against South Africa and Pakistan next southern summer in a revamp of home international scheduling, according to reports.
Dismissing the outrage in the Indian media after ground staff were captured on camera sitting and drinking on the pitch, WACA chief executive Graeme Wood clarified it was customary for the groundsmen to have a drink on eve of a Test match to celebrate their hard work.
'Please don't ask questions on what kind of runs are expected from the track.'
Anderson's performance, his first five-wicket haul in Australia, turned out be in vain in the end, though, as the hosts steadily chipped away at England on the fourth day when they were chasing 354 for victory.
'There will be a lot of spice to the contest -- there is a reason India is the only team other than England against whom Australia is keen to play a five Test series.' 'I'll watch, as I suspect most fans will -- but this one time, I'll watch with considerable trepidation and, from a fan's point of view, with the hope that the team finds its feet and that right quick,' notes the distinguished cricket commentator Prem Panicker.
The 31-year-old also led Australia to a Commonwealth Games gold medal last year and is the country's leading run getter across formats
Following is a fact box on the second Test of the four-match series between Australia and India:
The mood in the Indian camp was summed up best by the skipper after a green pitch was unveiled on eve of the maiden Test at the new facility.
Australia's board had hoped the 60,000-seat venue in Burswood would be ready to host the third Ashes Test between the sides from December 14-18 but construction delays ruled that out, with Perth's traditional WACA ground staging it instead.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been fined for breaching the CA Code of Behaviour during the RYOBI One-Day Cup match between Tasmania and Western Australia at the WACA Ground in Perth.
Kiwi Ross Taylor's mammoth 290 in the WACA Test against Australia, propelled him to the top-10 list
Images from Day 5 of the 3rd Ashes Test played at the WACA in Perth on Monday
Ricky Ponting raised both arms to acknowledge the crowd of the WACA Ground and said farewell to cricket.
Picking up where he left off in the first Test in Brisbane, the opener scored 244 not out for his third century in three innings as the hosts dominated New Zealand's bowlers as ruthlessly as they had in the 208-run victory at the Gabba.
In reply to Australia's first innings total of 385, England were 180 for four at stumps on the second day, with Ian Bell on nine (from 62 balls) and Ben Stokes on 14, still trailing by 205 runs on the second day of the third Ashes Test against England at the WACA Ground on Friday.
The dawn of a new era had begun under Sourav Ganguly's aggressive leadership. With Ganguly and Coach John Wright at the helm India had transitioned into a force to be reckoned with.
Photos of the fourth One-day International between England and Australia.
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