Warner in line to return as part of new-look opening duo

David Warner appears set to return to the top of Australia's under-performing Test batting order even though he will be playing through pain, and he might be partnered by uncapped opener Will Pucovski who has also been given the green light to resume.

That was the word from Australia men's team coach Justin Langer after a meeting with his fellow selectors (chair Trevor Hohns and George Bailey) this morning, with a final call on the starting line-up for the third Vodafone Series against India likely to come after training later today at the SCG.

Langer admitted today those selection discussions include the caveats that might come with deploying a newly minted opening combination against well-drilled bowlers as Australia strives to "get out of the blocks hard" when play begins Thursday morning with the series locked at one-all.

Warner has not played Test cricket for a year, having missed the opening two matches against India at Adelaide and Melbourne after sustaining a serious groin tear in a fielding mishap during the Dettol ODI Series that preceded the Vodafone Tests.

Pucovski was on the cusp of a much-anticipated Test debut before he suffered concussion from a blow to the head while batting in a warm-up game against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval last month.

Having undergone examination by an independent neurologist in recent days, Pucovski has been told the latest head knock – the ninth concussion of the 22-year-old's sporting career – has not left him at increased risk of long-term damage, Langer said today.

However, decisions on the opening combination Australia takes into the third Test – having failed to post a score above 200 this summer – will likely be made later today as selectors weigh up the respective merits of specialist openers Warner, Pucovski and Marcus Harris, as well as makeshift incumbent Matthew Wade.

"Very, very hopeful that Davey (Warner) will be ready to go, he's a little warrior," Langer said today.

"It looks like he's moving pretty well, he's very determined to play.

"He loves the competition, he loves playing Test cricket so we'll get some final eyes on him at training this afternoon and make a decision after that.

"But I would say he's looking very, very likely to play the Test match and then we've got some other decisions to make with our batting order.

"We'll get some eyes on Will (Pucovski) today and get some eyes on all our players and make some decisions probably after the session this afternoon."

Langer confirmed that Warner, whose most recent Test outing was the 2020 New Year's Test at the SCG against New Zealand due to the pandemic-disrupted global schedule and his injury, would be restricted in some of his fielding capacity.

However, he added the 34-year-old was not at risk of re-injuring the groin that suffered three tears unless he performed a manoeuvre similar to the diving roll he executed during the ODI against India at the SCG last November that saw him hobble from the field in agony.

"I think his batting will be fine," Langer said of the former Test vice-captain.

"There might just be some different movements he needs to make in the field, so we'll probably get him in the slips.

"I still remember clearly those brilliant catches he took at Leeds a year and a half ago (against England when regular slipper Steve Smith was sidelined with concussion), so he's such a natural talent.

"He's going to be playing with pain though and it's not so much in the muscle but in the tendon area.

"We're confident that unless he does something exactly like he did in the one-day international, it's not something that's going to re-injure him.

"He's going to have some pain … but he's willing to take that on and hopefully it won't hamper him too much."

Langer said the dominance of ball over bat in the Vodafone Series to date – India's stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane is the only player to have scored a century in two completed Tests – has been partly due to the nature of pitches that have favoured seam and spin bowling.

But he also acknowledged the mastery of India's new-ball spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (eight wickets at 23.62) and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (10 at 17.70) as a reason why Australia's batters have been restricted to scoring at barely 2.5 runs per over so far in the campaign.

Langer said the longer-than-usual eight-day gap between the Boxing Day and New Year's Test has provided an opportunity for his batters to work on strategies against India's bowling plans, with a focus on better combatting Ashwin's suffocating spells.

India will be forced to make at least one change to their bowling line-up from the MCG with seamer Umesh Yadav ruled out of the remainder of the series with a calf strain, with the match-ups against a revised attack adding another element the selectors' discussions.

Despite being cleared to resume playing, Langer claimed Pucovski still had "a few boxes to tick" and then there came the issue of which incumbent member of the middle-order would miss out if two new openers were chosen (with Joe Burns already omitted) and Wade returned to his regular batting berth.

Travis Head, who is currently filling the number five position that was Wade's until he was installed at the top of the order, has averaged just 20.66 with a highest score of 38 in the series, and is viewed as vulnerable should selectors opt for a fresh opening combination.

But Langer was also mindful of the lack of recent red-ball cricket for Warner, and Pucovski's as-yet unknown capacity to settle into Test conditions with the Vodafone Series poised on a knife-edge.

"Davey hasn't played any four-day cricket for about 12 months now but he's a master of the game, and his experience will help him through that," Langer said.

"Will's a bit different, he's played a lot of four-day cricket, scored a couple of double-hundreds for Victoria and hasn't played for a few weeks.

"There's no reason why Will can't be selected now, it's just about working out the balance of our team, where we're at in the series, all those things that go into selection.

"He's going to be up and raring to get picked, and ready to play for Australia if he's selected.

"Heady's a good player, he's averaging 40 in Test cricket, he's a really aggressive player in the middle overs, he can take the game away.

"He's currently in the team and whether that changes this game I can't tell you, we've got some decisions to make.

"But he's a very, very good player, and very well-liked and respected among the group.

"Whatever way we go, it's so hard to fit seven or eight into six (positions).

"It's the hardest part of my job."

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: India won by eight wickets

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT