Australia’s tour of India will crank into gear on Saturday when a group of eight players attend their first training session at Chennai’s Chidambaram Stadium, the venue for the first Test starting on February 22.
Following Thursday’s arrival of the opening wave of players, four more are due in Chennai on Saturday.
Skipper Michael Clarke will be part of a party of five to land on Monday, followed the next day by opener David Warner who’s nursing an injured thumb.
That makes a total of 18 although Western Australia’s 19-year-old spinner Ashton Agar is a net bowler.
Clarke will be rested from Sunday’s fifth one-dayer against West Indies in Melbourne due to hamstring soreness.
Agar and uncapped offspinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell will be among Saturday’s arrivals as Australia prepare for the opening warm-up game against Indian Board President’s XI on Tuesday and Wednesday at Chennai’s Guru Nanak College Ground.
Australia’s frontline spinner Nathan Lyon is expected to play a key role in the two-day game and will be joined by the other specialist slow bowler Xavier Doherty on the eve of the match.
Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc has been switched from Monday’s arrivals to Saturday’s, putting him in the frame for a hit-out on Tuesday.
Monday’s arrivals — Clarke, Doherty, Phil Hughes, Mitchell Johnson and in-form batsman Shane Watson — are unlikely to play in Tuesday’s game which will be an opportunity for Lyon to show he’s still the main man.
The 25-year-old claimed 19 wickets in Australia’s Test summer and is encouraging selectors to play himself and Doherty in the four-Test series against India.
“With the quality of quicks that we’ve brought over, I don’t think India will be really wanting a green, seam-friendly pitch,” Lyon says.
“Hopefully there’ll be an opportunity where two spinners will be able to go out on the field together for Australia.
“We saw with India they played four spinners in the last Test against England (in the drawn fourth Test in Nagpur in December).”
However Australia may opt for three quicks, one spinner and Maxwell.
That scenario would mean Lyon and Doherty, who played two Tests in 2010, are competing for the one spot.
Asked if he was Australia’s No.1 spinner, Lyon told AAP: “I would hope so.
“But … I’ve got to be bowling my best to cement my spot.
“I’m no guarantee to be picked in the first Test.”
India’s crowd favourite Sachin Tendulkar posted an unbeaten 140 for Mumbai against Rest of India on Friday on day three of a five-day match.
Tendulkar, 39, hasn’t made a Test ton for over two years.