Ravichandran Ashwin was the second fastest to 200 Test wickets and the fastest to 250 and 300 Test wickets.
Could he possibly be left out of India's eleven for the first Test in Adelaide? It would be a bold call to favour Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, despite Australia's struggles against left-arm spin.
Regardless, Ashwin - the taker of 336 wickets in just 64 Tests - has no fears over his lesser record away from home.
In India, Ashwin has taken 234 wickets in just 38 Tests, with 277 of his 336 coming in Asia. His remaining 59 wickets, taken away from the subcontinent, came in 19 matches.
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In two tours to Australia, he has taken 21 scalps from six Tests at 54.71. The 2011-12 series in Australia was Ashwin's first overseas Test tour, and in three matches, he took nine wickets at 62.78 - a far cry from his debut series against West Indies at home just weeks earlier, when he took 22 wickets at 22.91 in three matches. When he arrived to Australia for a second crack, in 2014-15, he had 107 wickets to his name. In his three Tests, he took 12 wickets at 48.67.
Few bowlers have challenged his numbers since, but with India's 2018 season dominated by away tours to South Africa, England and now Australia, Ashwin's mettle has been tested like never before.
On the other side of the fence, Nathan Lyon has emerged as the undroppable, with Australia's premier spin option preparing for his 59th consecutive Test match.
Sole-spinner Lyon will play a crucial role in the Test series, and Australia skipper Tim Paine will need to keep him motoring from one end while the quicks send down fire and brimstone at the other.
However, that doesn't mean Ashwin wants to use Lyon as a template for success in Australia. Both debutants of the year 2011, they are offies, but of different ilk - where Lyon is side-on, Ashwin is more front-on. Lyon follows with shoulder and hip, while Ashwin powers through with his arm.
The duo were front and centre of last year's series in India, sharing 40 wickets between them as the hosts fought to a 2-1 series win.
Four years earlier, as India cantered to a 4-0 series whitewash, they shared 44 wickets - with 29 falling to Ashwin, although Lyon played one match fewer.
In between was the 2014/15 series in Australia, with Lyon taking 23 wickets to Ashwin's 12. Ashwin, too, played one match fewer.
Last week, India struggled to make an impact with the ball in a four-day Tour match against a Cricket Australia XI, conceding 544 runs. Ashwin bowled 40 overs, ending up with 2-122 as the rain-affected match teetered to a draw. However, he remained coy over his rusty performance.
"We both started our Test careers at the same time, so obviously mutual admiration is there," Ashwin said of Lyon following the Cricket Australia XI match.
"What can I learn [from Lyon]? Probably just drop the ball in the right spots... it's going to be very hard to replicate one's action. We are talking about actions and biomechanics here, and it's quite silly when people say, oh, it's overspin and sidespin and stuff like that.
"You've got to still stick to your strengths. You're not going to ask Ishant Sharma to bowl like Philander, can you? It's not going to happen.
"Something's got me 350-odd wickets in my Test career, something's got him 300-odd wickets in his career. It's important to keep going the same way and learn a few things on the way."
Taking Ashwin's numbers away from home at face value would undersell the 32-year-old's obvious potential.
With the Australian pitches set to favour the quicks, Ashwin opened up on the session-by-session grind that India need to pursue, which will be able to get him into the contest.
"It's more about trying to get your noses ahead in Australia, every hour, the game can get away from your hands really fast when you're on the field," he said.
"It's very important to soak together good partnerships as a bowling group and then try and knock the wickets over. It's not like you're going to blow oppositions away."
Fears linger for both sides in how their quicks will handle the toil on flat pitches. However, Australian co-vice-captain Josh Hazlewood remained confident he and his fellow quicks would make it through.
Regardless, the precedent looms large. India's 2014-15 tour of Australia was a run-fest for the ages - Australia's average first-innings total in the series was 531, while India's was 448.
With wickets at a premium on flat decks, across the series, both sides had four bowlers send down over 100 overs in the series, with Lyon topping the list with 223, Ashwin India's most with 171.
Should that be the case this summer, the fears over quick bowlers breaking down will remain, and the spinners will play a key role in easing the load - but Hazlewood didn't look too much into it.
"Pat [Cummins] and I played all five last year, and [Mitch] Starc played four," Hazlewood said.
"Four in a month is tough going. It all depends on how much you bowl in the games, to be honest.
"Adelaide and Perth are gonna have the most in the wickets, out of the four tracks... if we can get a light innings here or there, it pays dividends later in the summer.
"[India] have played a lot at home since they toured Australia last time... it's probably only Virat [Kohli] that has stood out.
"A lot of the other guys haven't scored too many runs, but these wickets are different again. It's about weighing that up and adapting to what we find out in the middle."
