Former Australian legend Alex Carey has been backed to perform on the toughest assignment of his Test career to date by the man who captained Australia to their last victory in India - Adam Gilchrist.

Gilchrist was the fill-in captain for Australia during the famous 2004 victory in India, with Ricky Ponting missing the tour due to injury.

Carey, who has been wicket-keeper of the Australian side since Tim Paine stood down over off-field issues, has taken to Test cricket superbly so far in his short career, scoring 633 runs in 15 Tests at an average of 39.56, with a century and another three innings over 50.

His glovework has also been commended, taking 56 catches in 15 Tests.

Gilchrist, speaking to AAP, said Carey's keeping is getting better, and believes he will be up to the challenge of keeping in India - one of the toughest places on the planet to ply the trade.

"Just try and relax and trust that work and I think he does that, anyway," Gilchrist said.

"In India, you're going to have some challenging situations and probably some missed opportunities, that's just the nature of the beast and the amount of time you can potentially spend over the stumps in challenging conditions.

"He could well be keeping a lot to the reverse swinging ball, on pitches that are low and you've got to stand a lot closer so he'll be well aware of all the condition potentials."

Carey will bat at number seven for Australia during the series, with the first Test to be played in Nagpur on Thursday, with the pitch showing signs of being dry and lifeless, but likely ready to take spin.

Australia are weighing up whether to play three spinners or not - something they haven't done since the second Test in 2017 against Bangladesh when Pat Cummins was the sole specialist quick.

If they do the same again, Cummins will once again go in as the sole specialist quick, with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc out injured.

Carey's keeping again spin is noted as strong despite the fact he is yet to take a stumping at Test level - he has managed 8 at ODI level in 62 games and 9 in 38 T20I matches.