Todd Murphy tipped as potential heir to Australian cricket spinner Nathan Lyon by Jason Krejza

Former Australian spinner Jason Krejza - who burst onto the scene in similar fashion during a stunning Test debut in Nagpur almost 15 years ago - says Murphy has already adjusted to Indian conditions better than Nathan Lyon.

Now he has emerged as the heir apparent for Lyon, who at 35 is entering the twilight years of a Test career that will see him finish as Australia's third-leading wicket-taker of all time.

Murphy has played just eight first class games but a seven-wicket haul on debut in India has sparked hope he could be the Test side's next long-term spin option ahead of the second Test beginning in Delhi on Friday.

Australia's relentless search for a spinner in the post-Shane Warne era ended in the hands of Lyon, who has gone on to play 116 Tests and now sits behind just Warne and Glenn McGrath on the nation's list of leading wicket-takers.

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There were moments it felt like the search would never end as selectors cycled through names like Beau Casson, Cameron White, Nathan Hauritz, Bryce McGain, Xavier Doherty and Michael Beer.

Also among them was Krejza, whose 12 scalps on debut in India fuelled hope he would be the answer. But after just one more appearance against South Africa later that year, Krejza's Test career was over.

In this era, though, Krejza sees "someone at a very, very high level" with the potential to one day take the reins from "our best spinner since Warnie".

"How he has adjusted to their conditions and his seam position, is probably better than Nathan Lyon," Krejza said.

"He is spinning the ball a lot squarer, which is what Indians and Pakistanis tend to do on their wickets, particularly when it's that type of wicket where it's inconsistent. He bowled pretty much all of his balls similarly out of the hand, lots of square spin, whereas Nathan Lyon was getting a lot of overspin on the ball.

"When you've got more overspin on the ball, it can mean the spin is more consistent, so it's easier to read. When you go squarer, one might skid, one might drag massively. How he has adjusted to that quite fast, it's pretty impressive."

Selectors are considering a three-pronged spin attack for the second Test as Australia look to bounce back from a forgettable capitulation in Nagpur.

Cam Green's impending return could allow Australia to blood Matthew Kuhnemann and use three frontline spinners for the first time since facing Bangladesh in 2017.

Krejza, who took a walk down memory lane to recount his Test debut with The Canberra Times ahead of his appearance for the ACA Masters against an ACT XI at Manuka Oval on Friday night, harbours simple advice for Australia's spinners.

"Particularly on wickets like that, it's completely different. You potentially don't have to change much, there are a lot of spinners over in India that are quite classical spinners with the overspin stock seam position, and they do really well," Krejza said.

"They're just so consistent and they're very good at the finer bits, even the younger spinners, they're good with their pace and all that. It's very good for spin.

"The biggest challenge is batting over there for Australians, because our wickets are just so flat. We play so much on synthetic wickets when we're younger that hardly spin, there isn't a lot of very, very good spinners, whereas in India, every third person in the population bowls spin.

"The batting challenge is the hardest thing to acclimatise to, you need a couple of very good shots you know you can trust, you need to have a very good defence and know how to defend in India, which isn't easily bred here in Australia, purely because of the conditions. It is very foreign, it is very hard work."

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