Rain ruins first day of India tour match

Torrential rain has ruined day one of India's only tour game before the first Test, leaving Virat Kohli's team with even scanter opportunity to adjust to local conditions.

India's on-field preparations for their four-Test series against Australia were scheduled to start at 10.30am AEDT on Wednesday, with a four-day match against an inexperienced Cricket Australia (CA) XI at the SCG.

But morning storms created chaos in Sydney, where the average rainfall for the entire month of November was recorded in less than two hours.

The forecast was so grim that India's Test squad never arrived at the iconic venue. The showers did eventually stop and there was brief hope of a 3.30pm toss but play was abandoned without a single delivery being bowled.

Virat Kohli, fiercely competitive at the best of times and desperate to lead India to their first Test series win in Australia, opted for a gym session rather than a day off.

In an unwanted twist for the underprepared visitors, Wednesday initially wasn't part of the game schedule until CA agreed to extend the match to four days so India could get more practice.

India asked this week for the game not to be given first-class status, a wish that was also granted and will allow them to test out more players from their squad, rather than being restricted to an XI.

When they do get on the field, India will face a team made up of players not selected for the current Sheffield Shield round, with D'Arcy Short the only member with international experience.

India are yet to complain publicly about the fact their opposition have five players without any first-class experience but it's understood they aren't pleased.

"A lot of people talk about tour games but where are those tour games happening and against what quality of bowling are very important questions," Kohli said earlier this year in England, where the visitors successfully asked for their only four-day tune-up to be reduced to three days.

"Time is not utilised well if you don't get the quality of opposition that you will face in Test cricket."

Veteran quick Ishant Sharma adopted a more diplomatic line on Tuesday, insisting the quality of India's opposition in their only warm-up match wasn't a concern.

"I never think too much about all these things," Sharma said.

"Because if you go with this kind of feeling then you relax a bit ... It is pretty serious for us because it will set the tone for us."

The issue of warm-up quality has become a global issue due to a cluttered schedule, and is not just one for CA who prioritise the Shield competition.

Domain Test Series v India

Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval

Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium

Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar