Australia will risk compromising their Champions Trophy preparations by picking Mike Hussey for the coming one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.
Selection chief John Inverarity will announce the team for the first two ODIs on Sunday morning in Sydney, with Hussey a certain selection before he retires from all forms of international cricket at the end of the summer.
Hussey will be difficult to replace in the Test and ODI arenas, where he’s been a consistent match-winner in the middle-order.
Mr Cricket will receive a fitting nationwide farewell in the one-dayers against Sri Lanka and West Indies.
But at the same time Australia will be missing a golden chance to trial his long-term replacement.
There are big Test tours to India and England this year but, in a one-day sense, taking out a third successive Champions Trophy in June in the UK will be the pinnacle.
Incumbent ODI players David Hussey and George Bailey will be looking for a chance to audition for Mike Hussey’s No.6 Test position for the Indian tour.
Dave Hussey’s ability to bowl spin will also improve his chances of replacing his brother in India where pitches require extra turning options.
The lack of certainty in the Test team means other longer-form opportunities are on offer in the separate series against Sri Lanka and then West Indies starting on January 11.
There are a host of candidates to replace Hussey in the Test arena and it will be interesting to see if young batsmen like Usman Khawaja and Alex Doolan are given a chance to impress.
Glenn Maxwell is well entrenched in the one-day team now but in the back of his mind he’ll be auditioning for a place on the Test tour to India.
As an allrounder who bowls spin, Maxwell could be useful in the sub-continent and was 12th man for the Sydney Test.
Managing the workloads of stars like captain Michael Clarke, wicketkeeper Matt Wade and opener David Warner will also be key in the selectors’ minds.
Fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson can also expect the rotation policy to play an even bigger part in the make-up of the attack, as Australia look to keep their stable of quicks fresh for the big year ahead.