Travis Head is adamant he has the game to succeed in India, pointing to white-ball form on the sub-continent as evidence he can step up if retained for February's tour.

Head continued his stellar run at home in Australia's big win in Perth, falling agonisingly short of a fifth Test century when bowled for 99 on day two.

His runs came after he was the player of the series in last year's Ashes, hitting two tons and averaging 59.5.

But away from home, his returns in Test cricket are far different.

The left-hander managed just 91 runs at 15.16 across both Pakistan and Sri Lanka series this year, failing to pass 30 in seven innings.

Coach Andrew McDonald has indicated Australia will look to pick horses for courses in India, with results at home this summer carrying little relevance.

That could put the likes of Peter Handscomb in contention for a Test return, with Glenn Maxwell also a chance if fit after narrowly missing out on selection twice in Sri Lanka.

But regardless, McDonald also made clear after those series he believed Head had improved with early outs just not giving the chance to showcase it.

Head is also confident his technique is not the issue after making scores of 101, 89 and 70no in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"My white-ball stuff has been really good on testing wickets in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, I played really well," Head said.

"I just haven't been able to translate that into red-ball cricket.

"They are moments that obviously stand out and it is a stat-based game. But two series, I am early in my career still in terms of international cricket in the sub-continent.

"A lot of players have missed out. I'm not going to change the wheel or invent anything different. I will work on things in January leading up to that if I am going to be there."

Head's bowling could also be a factor, with captain Pat Cummins endorsing his status as a genuine option after his 2-25 against West Indies in Perth went with four wickets in 17 balls in Sri Lanka in July.

But with the bat, Head said he could potentially take more out of his approach in one-day cricket into Test matches in India, after operating far slower in Asia than at home.

His 99 in Perth again came in 95 balls after both centuries last summer came in rapid time.

The 28-year-old claims he did not make it a point to be aggressive batting at No.5, but rather playing to conditions and match situation.

"I will make sure I play well over the (summer) and there are things I will probably do a little bit differently (in Asia as opposed to last year)," he said.

"Maybe I can be a little bit more like my white ball. A bit more positive. There are things you can go back and work on. I just didn't get away."