Mitchell Starc's return is a huge boost for Australia before the series opener against India, said fellow pacer Josh Hazlewood, who raved over the left-arm quick for his stellar record in D/N Tests. 

Starc, who had been on compassionate leave since the first T20I versus the Indians, has taken 42 wickets at an average of 19.23 in 7 pink-ball outings under lights and hence will be a major threat for the visitors in Adelaide. 

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"He’s obviously a huge part of our team and attack. Everyone knows his numbers with the pink ball. We welcome him with open arms," said Hazlewood during a virtual news conference, as quoted by PTI. 

Starc will rejoin the squad on Monday, just three days prior to the start of the Test match on Thursday (December 17), but Hazlewood played down fears that the pacer could be slightly underprepared. 

"I think he would be fine. Nothing goes to plan. He is a professional player and would have been doing everything he could have over the last week. He will be ready to go and jump straight in," he said. 

"If we’ve learned anything from this (pandemic) year, that nothing goes per your plan and we’re always struggling with schedules and travel and different things. I’m sure this hiccup will be no different for him (Starc)."

On a different note, having enjoyed a wood over Virat Kohli during the one-dayers, Hazlewood hopes to make a fresh start against the Indian captain in the Test. 

"I’ve had some luck of late in the white-ball stuff. You take a little bit into the next format but I think it’s pretty much a fresh start, a different story again with the pink ball," he said. 

"He (Kohli) has obviously scored some runs last time with the red bull. It’s just crucial to start well against him. I’ve got him in both the innings in one Test so it’s crucial to start well."

Hazlewood said getting an early edge over someone like Cheteshwar Pujara is extremely crucial as they look to stay fresh for longer periods of time through the series, unlike the last time when Pujara simply grind the Aussie quicks down across four Tests. 

“Probably our bowlers did not get enough rest in between innings with Pujara facing a lot of balls. I guess in a long series that’s the batsmen’s goal to score runs and win that Test but also to keep the frontline attack out of the field as long as possible, which probably exactly what happened last time around," said Hazlewood, recalling the 2-1 Test series loss at home to India in the 2018-19 summer. 

“We had spent a lot of time on the field in Melbourne with short rest in between and then again in Sydney. In four-five match Test series, that’s a huge goal for the batters to not only score runs but spend a lot of time in the middle, to get some arms and legs of the opposition bowlers."

"Hopefully we can swing that around this time and keep the Indian bowlers out for as long as possible to reap benefits later in the series," he added.