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New Delhi: Australia’s regular skipper Pat Cummins and middle-order batter Josh Inglis are in the frame for the second Ashes Test that begins on Thursday in Brisbane, stand-in captain Steve Smith said on Wednesday.
Cummins had to sit out Australia's eight-wicket win in the Perth series opener as he is recovering from a back injury and was kept out from the second Test squad named last week.
However, Smith said Cummins looks to be in good shape at training and may be considered by selectors for the day-night match against England.
"He looks pretty good to me, the way he's bowled in the nets," the top batter said in Brisbane’s Gabba ground, venue for the second match.
"Obviously the game's a different intensity, for sure, but he's tracking really nicely, he knows his body well and yeah, we'll wait and see."
Australia are mulling multiple combinations after opener Usman Khawaja was ruled out with a back injury.
Travis Head is expected to take his place at the top of their order in the pink-ball Test after his match-turning 123 off 83 balls in Perth in the second innings as a makeshift opener.
Khawaja turns 39 this month and has endured a lean phase with the bat in recent times and Smith said the 85-Test veteran remains a "quality player" but declined to back his return to the playing XI.
"It's not for me to answer whether I think that's going to happen or not," he said, also remaining unwilling to confirm Nathan Lyon's place in the team, with the possibility seamer Brendan Doggett making way for Cummins.
Reports in Australian media have suggested wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis will take Head's spot in the middle order for his first
Test on home soil but Smith said final decision will be taken after taking a look at the pitch and the XI decided on Thursday morning.
In his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Galle in January, Inglis cracked a century and would play in his fourth Test against Ben Stokes' England.
"Yeah, he's obviously a pretty attacking batsman, he did really well on his debut in Sri Lanka," Smith said of Inglis.
"He's been in really good for.... He plays fast bowling really nicely so if he gets an opportunity I'm sure he'll do really well for us."
Australia have won 12 out of the 13 pink-ball tests they have staged, losing only against West Indies at the Gabba in January, 2024.
"At times (the ball) can get a little bit soft and you can see guys batting comfortably, I suppose, at stages," said Smith.
"That's one thing we have to weigh up going into this game and see how it plays out."
