Selectors have left the door ajar for a shock call-up of pace duo Pat Cummins and James Pattinson in India, to safeguard against injury to their senior quicks.
Neither were included in Australia's 16-man squad due to a lack of match practice, but selectors have foreshadowed replenishing their pace stocks after the first two Tests.
Cummins and Pattinson, with their express pace, are bound to feature prominently among the names of those next in line, but both have stated recently that the India series could be too soon, preferring instead a lengthy spell in the Sheffield Shield before a Test recall.
The conservative, and some might say smart, option would be to leave both in the shield, then build to next summer's Ashes.
But Australia's fast bowling options are thin outside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Jackson Bird is the only other front-line quick on the tour, but selectors have stated their desire to play quicks who can bowl 140km/h-plus – hence Mitchell Marsh's inclusion as a bowling all-rounder.
Nathan Coulter-Nile, who was part of the squad in Sri Lanka, also fits the speed criteria but is on the comeback trail from stress fractures in his back.
Cummins, who is likely to be required for Australia's one-day international and Twenty20 teams, should fit in at least two shield games for NSW before selectors make a call after the end of the second Test in India on March 8.
It would be a bold move if he is picked, as Cummins' last first-class game was in August 2015. He has starred since coming back in October, but only in the limited-overs formats.
Cummins told Fairfax Media last month, after his international return in the Chappell-Hadlee series, that it would be "silly" to consider a Test recall before "at least a couple of shield games" to prove his worth.
"For me, it's about getting back and playing cricket this summer," Cummins said.
Selectors are likely to also have two games to assess Pattinson, who has been playing Big Bash League and 50-over grade cricket in his comeback. Pattinson said last month he was wary of coming back to Test cricket too soon.
He has not played a first-class game since the second Test against New Zealand almost 11 months ago, after which he was diagnosed with a bone stress injury in his shin.
"In an ideal world I would have played four or five shield games in a row, then played some Test cricket," Pattinson said.
Pattinson left the field during the Melbourne Renegades' win over Adelaide on Monday night due to cramp, but the club says he is available for selection for the next game, against Brisbane at the Gabba on Friday.
While Hazlewood said three quicks was "plenty for a tour of India", he also gave an insight into why selectors want bowlers of high speed there, despite the subcontinent's reputation as a spin bowler's paradise.
"I think we can take something out of the way Starcy bowled in Sri Lanka on similar wickets," Hazlewood said. "He sort of takes the pitch out of the equation sometimes with how full and fast he bowls.
"We don't all have that luxury. But we've got to find a way to be successful as a group of quicks, as well as with the spinners."
