Former India coach Greg Chappell believes Australia’s young cricketers are still in "primary school" as compared to their Indian counterparts and he also advised his country's cricket board to invest in talent.

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Chappell’s comments came in the wake of Australia’s embarrassing Test series loss at the hands of India on home soil even though the visitors were badly hit by injuries and without their regular skipper Virat Kohli (paternity leave).  

"Our young cricketers are weekend warriors compared to their Indian compatriots, who get challenging matchplay from the Under-16 age group onwards," Chappell wrote in a column for 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

"By the time an Indian player reaches the national XI, he has had an all-round apprenticeship that prepares him to walk into the Indian side with a reasonable chance of success.

"I am afraid, in comparison, Will Pucovski and Cameron Green are still in primary school in terms of experience."

Chappell then pointed out the huge difference in the investment made by BCCI and Cricket Australia

"The BCCI is investing millions of dollars in budding Indian cricketers. Cricket Australia, by comparison, spends $44m dollars on the Sheffield Shield. The comparative spending gap isn't a gulf; it is the size of the Indian Ocean," he wrote.

"If Cricket Australia doesn't realise what it takes to be competitive in Test cricket and our entire cricket administration does not change its attitude on where to invest in talent, we will be also-rans in no time."

According to Chappell, the skill level of Indian youth teams would embarrass some of Australia’s first-class sides.

"Their ability to deal with pressure has been cultivated in the cauldron of hard-fought matches. That level of intensity cannot be replicated in nets or against lesser opponents. The fact that India has 38 first-class teams should give you an idea of the depth of talent available," he wrote.

"What one sees when watching Indian youth and A teams is the surprising degree of maturity and an intuitive understanding of all aspects of the game. It is as rare as it is stark. So much so that one can be forgiven for thinking a team of men is playing a group of schoolboys."

Reflecting on the series loss, the former Australia skipper blamed the batsmen.

"I don't blame Tim Paine and our bowlers for this defeat. The culpability lies fairly and squarely with the batsmen, who simply didn't make enough runs on friendly wickets."

Chappell said Australia will soon need to find replacements for David Warner and Steve Smith.

"Our days of domination are past, unless we start producing a group of batsmen who bat through 125 overs in the first innings. David Warner is struggling and Steve Smith won't be around for ever, so we need to find the champions who are going to replace them - and soon."

Chappell also backed under-fire Tim Paine to continue leading the national side in the longest format of the game.

"For those calling out for heads to roll, especially those seeking Tim Paine's head on a pike, I say REALLY? Tim is one of only five players who can claim an automatic place in this Australian team. Sure, he didn't have his best Test series behind the stumps, but he still averaged 40 with the bat," he wrote.

(With PTI inputs)