Labuschagne has India on the brain ahead of Test summer

While Marnus Labuschagne is preparing to play for Queensland this weekend in the Marsh Sheffield Shield he says one part of his mind is focused on the upcoming Test series against heavyweights India.

The overnight Indian Premier League matches have alerted Labuschagne to the opponents he is expecting to encounter this summer and it's triggered a thought on how he might handle them.

"You're subconsciously thinking about (playing India), thinking how their bowlers bowl especially now you're locked in (isolation) watching the IPL in the morning," Labuschagne said ahead of travelling to Adelaide with his Queensland teammates tomorrow.

"Looking at how their bowlers are bowling it makes you think what they'll do, how (paceman Jasprit) Bumrah will bowl, what (quick Mohammad) Shami will do.

"Maybe it's more of a subconscious thing, so you're not necessarily thinking about it directly but it's turning over in the background, what you might do, what plans they might have for you."

India are set to play four Tests against Australia, although the dates and venues are still to be finalised.

The Indian side that is set to come out this summer will face a vastly improved Labuschagne from the version they encountered in the Sydney Test in 2019.

Labuschagne made 38 at the SCG in the final Test of India's 2-1 series win, but has since blossomed into one of the world's most prolific run-scorers following a breakthrough Ashes campaign last year and a monumental home summer against Pakistan and New Zealand.

The right-hander, who boasts a Test batting average of 63.43, is wary of teams devising new plans to dismiss him or curtail his scoring, which is why he's been actively preparing his own countermeasures should that be the case. 

"It's about getting better and thinking about how they're going to attack me, what they will try to do to get me out and how I will counter that," he said.

"Fundamentally the same thing is going to work but you want to make sure there's new ideas, new plans – if that's (facing) short balls or having a few more catches on the leg side or hanging it wide on the off side – whatever their plans might be I think it's important as a cricketer that you're one step ahead and you're trying to understand what they're going to do and how they're going to attack you."

One extra challenge the 26-year-old could encounter this summer is switching from pink ball to red ball, depending on the tour schedule.

While none of the first four rounds of the Sheffield Shield are to be played with a pink ball and under lights before the squads break up for the KFC BBL, Labuschagne says rotating between the three forms of cricket has become the norm for professional cricketers.

"One thing over the last few years is guys have been used to changing," he said.

"Not last year but the year before, we played three red ball games, two pink ball games and five with Dukes balls.

"So guys are used to shifting from different balls, slightly different game strategies with each of those, and I think that's become part of the game.

"So many times you have to be able to shift from the different formats.

"You don’t always have that luxury to play or two or three games prior to that with that colour ball."

Labuschagne will line up for the Bulls against Tasmania at Adelaide's Park 25 on Saturday in the opening round of the Marsh Sheffield Shield, which will be live streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.