India, Oct. 12 -- For Nathan McSweeney, watching videos of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith has proved extremely beneficial. The 27-year-old is coming off a successful one-day series for Australia A against India A, having scored 194 runs to emerge as his team's highest run-scorer in the three-game contest, which the visitors won 2-1.

Kohli and Smith have been influential in shaping the careers of several up-and-coming cricketers. McSweeney, it seems, recognised that succeeding on subcontinental pitches would require him to learn from Smith, who has scored 805 runs in Tests in India at an average of 50.3, and follow his blueprint.

Kohli, meanwhile, has struggled against spin in the latter part of his career. However, before his returns dippe...