Michael Clarke needs to start running by Wednesday if he is to stand any chance of playing in the first Test against India.
Clarke was included in Australia’s 12-man squad on Monday for the opening stanza of the four-Test series.
The 33-year-old needs to prove by midweek that he is ready for a two-day match against the tourists in Adelaide starting Friday.
Should Clarke play that match and recover well, he will take his place in the Test side.
Chief selector Rod Marsh insisted no risk will be taken with Clarke’s chronic hamstring injury.
“With his recent history, we can’t have him breaking down in the first innings of a Test match,” Marsh said of a man who has suffered three hamstring setbacks since August.
“We would never ever rest the Australian captain in the first Test of a series. But if he’s not fit, obviously he can’t play.”
Marsh said “we can safely assume he won’t be playing the Test” if he doesn’t run by Wednesday, with the subsequent two-day game essential for him to prove his fitness.
Marsh has yet to name a shadow batsman.
“Whether or not we have one, that’s for us to know and you to find out and I’m not telling you,” Marsh said.
There were few surprises in the squad announced on Monday, with Shane Watson and potential debutant Josh Hazlewood added to the XI that lost in Abu Dhabi.
Watson is set to replace Glenn Maxwell at No.3, while Mitchell Starc has been squeezed out of Australia’s pace attack.
Queensland paceman Ryan Harris returns to the Test squad following his recovery from knee surgery and will play for Queensland again in the Sheffield Shield this week as part of his build up to December 4.
If Harris is fit, Hazlewood and Peter Siddle will battle for the final berth in the side, with offspinner Nathan Lyon to be retained.
Hazlewood has been rewarded for strong recent one-day performances with inclusion in the Test squad for the first time since 2012-13.
Hazlewood claimed nine wickets in the ODI Series against South Africa.
Test squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Brad Haddin (vice-capt), Ryan Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson.
