Quote:Rod Marsh, Australian chief selector, insists Australia's recent Test whitewash in Sri Lanka was just a "blip" and believes there is no need to panic ahead of a major tour of India next year.

After convincingly losing all three Tests to Sri Lanka, Australia have now lost nine consecutive matches in Asia stretching their mediocre subcontinent record to just one win from 18 since 2008.

Recriminations ensued with Pat Howard, Australia's team performance manager, publically stating that the team needed a "horses-for- courses mentality" and that it was vital to pick players based on form.

But Marsh believed quality players should be adaptable in different conditions. "The horses-for- courses business, first of all you've got to know the course and we don't know the course yet," he said in Kandy on Monday (September 5). "Traditionally, pitches in India have been very good to bat on in the first innings.

Marsh believed Australian players should back their abilities overseas. "Good players are good players," he said. "That's what we've got to remember. They're usually good players because they can adapt to conditions. We had a bit of a blip here. But we're not going to panic. There's no way. We can't afford to panic because it's just ridiculous if we do."