The pros and cons of Team India's warriors

London: India arrive in England having not lost a series here since 1996. They have some of the all-time greats of the game in their squad, and Sportsmail's Nasser Hussain has played against a few of them. Here, the former England captain, who makes the home side slight favourites to win the four-Test series, runs the rule over their touring party and suggests ways England could undermine the world's No 1 ranked side.

Sachin Tendulkar: A machine. He ticks every box: technique, hunger (perhaps Pietersen could learn something) and consistency (unlike Brian Lara, there's no on-off switch). And batting is his life. Mentally he's very tough too, as you'd have to be in his position, and the only chink England may detect is against steepling bounce: it'll be interesting to see if he plays the pull shot. Still, he's having the time of his life at the moment, and I hope he doesn't change his game in pursuit of that 100th hundred.

M.S. Dhoni (captain): He's just an incredible character and has the resume to match. Everything he touches turns to gold. His man-management of India's superstars is one hell of a feat.

Gautam Gambhir: An impressive guy and a tough batsman in the new Indian mould. Technically he's solid and I think he'll do well in English conditions.

Rahul Dravid: Forget his batting for a moment: this is a guy who just loves playing for India. He always puts the team first and never sells his wicket cheaply. There may be a slight issue outside off stump when the ball's moving around a bit like with Mahela Jayawardene.

V.V.S. Laxman: He can start a series poorly, but he often scores runs when his team need them most. Superbly elegant, he may be susceptible to the ball that swings in, because he stays leg-side, but he's a magnificent player of spin. His duel with Graeme Swann should be intriguing.

Suresh Raina: An aggressive cricketer, but you can be sure England will pepper him with the short ball. He's verging on being a flat-track bully: if the ball's up there, he'll have a go. He's elegant, but expect Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad to get stuck in.

Yuvraj Singh: An enigma. He's another batsman England reckon doesn't fancy the short stuff, but he plays spin pretty well and if he makes a good start to the series, we may see a bit of the strut that gets up opposition noses.

Harbhajan Singh: Like Yuvraj, he's made India a feistier team. He's also everything I'd want from a spinner. He bowls with good pace, he has a doosra, and he's a good spinner of the ball, not just a roller.

Praveen Kumar: A very English-type seamer, although having said that he reminds me of the former Australian swing bowler Terry Alderman. He nibbles it around in the late 140kphs, and could go well against England's openers if he nibbles it around in helpful conditions.

Ishant Sharma: He's in the mould of the South African beanpole Morne Morkel. And if he goes round the wicket to Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, England's openers could have their hands full.

Zaheer Khan: Everyone's teeing up the Zaheer v Strauss battle, but I worry a bit that India's premier bowler is coming into this series a bit undercooked. But when he's on song he's a real challenge. A very clever bowler.

Munaf Patel: He's a good One-day bowler, but I'm less convinced by his credentials at Test level. I'd be surprised if he's in India's first-choice team.