India may be No.1 team but India will almost certainly lose against SA, Eng as well as Aus. They may prove to be relatively more competitive and may even win the odd game or draw here & there, but India will almost definitely lose ALL three of the big away series!
If the 3 series turn out to be quite competitive then India will deserve their ranking, otherwise they will naturally slip.. especially if they very possibly lose 3-0, 4-0, etc..
Regardless, it is pointless watching India play overseas, long long history proves it. And Im almost certain that very little will change. Individually a few of the players may do well but even if some guy scores 4 100s in a series, India will still lose and therefore all will be in vain! It's the team result that matters in a TEAM sport, not individual results. People are overly obsessed with individual performances. But if they don't materalise into a team result then it's all irrelevant. Umesh and/or Shami may do well here & there but will still struggle to win games for India like the spinners have done at home. And thats all that will decide the results in the end. If the indian fast bowlers can't "consistently" dismiss full opposition line ups for reasonable scores, then India will certainly lose all 3 of the series, and that's what's going to happen, 98% sure. So it's boring. If the series were 3 games long, maybe, just maybe, a team like India could sneak a series result (draw or better) but over 4 or 5 games, its a completely different story, they will certainly fall apart at some point and series will be gone. Similar to how non-sc teams felt & fared in India. India may not perform as badly as some of them have in India, but what difference does would it make? 3-1 instead of 4-0..