With less than 48 hours left for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia vice-captain Steve Smith has stated that all-rounder Cameron Green is unlikely to take part in the opening Test against India since he has not faced fast bowling in the nets.

The first Test between India and Australia will be held at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur from Thursday (February 9).

Notably, Green underwent surgery to repair his right index finger, which got fractured during the Boxing-Day Test against South Africa in December 2022.

"I don't think he is [going to play]. I don't think he's even faced fast bowlers yet. So I dare say he won't be playing but who knows. I'm not entirely sure. We'll wait and see," Steve Smith said in a pre-match conference in Nagpur.

"But it's unlikely, I think," he added.

Green’s absence means Australia will pick a specialist batter at No. 6 and only four bowlers for the first Test. With the surface appears dry, the visitors are likely to go with the combination of two quicks and two tweakers.

"It's pretty dry. Particularly one end that I think will take a bit of spin, particularly the left-arm spinner spinning it back into our left-handers. There's a section there that's quite dry. Other than that, I can't really get a good gauge on it," Smith said.

"I don't think there will be a heap of bounce in the wicket. I think for the seamers it will be quite skiddy and maybe a bit of up-and-down movement as the game goes on. The cracks felt quite loose. We'll wait and see when we get out there," he added.

When asked about the prospect of partnering Nathan Lyon and other Australian spinners like Ashton Agar, Todd Murphy and Mitchell Swepson, Smith replied: "Possibly. If Greeny was fit, it would be definitely more of an option.

"Without him I'm not entirely sure. We've got a strategy meeting this arvo where we'll talk about what we think. Ultimately it's down to the selectors to pick the team they think is best for the surface," said the star batter.

Australia Test Squad for India Tour: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson and David Warner.

(With ANI Inputs)