With Green out with injury, Bancroft's chances have brightened.
Pat Cummins confirmed Australia's new-look batting line-up on Tuesday with Steve Smith to open and Cameron Green at number four in the team to face West Indies in the first Test at Adelaide Oval from Wednesday.
Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
Out-of-form skipper Rohit Sharma's batting position will be in focus against a dangerous Australia
Smith and Green played vigilantly and stitched up a massive partnership to see off a comfortable victory in the three-match ODI series.
'(Bumrah) is so unique, and that's with any of the bowlers, really. Every (batter) picks up different cues and goes about it in a different way.'
'Having a look the last couple of days it looks like it's prepared pretty similar (to Nagpur). It looks pretty dry.'
R Ashwin is always up for a challenge and two days from his landmark 100th Test, India's premier off-spinner looked back at the on-field battles he has enjoyed in international and domestic cricket.
Hailing Virat Kohli as the "comeback king," former Indian opener Aakash Chopra said with his 'Player of the Tournament' performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup last year, Kohli "reinvented the wheel".
Just when Smith was on the brink of reaching his 31st Test century, an issue with the spider cam caused the Aussie to move away from his stumps before the ball was delivered.
A survivalist's mindset sees Indian batsmen fail again on the first day of the SCG Test.
The former South African quick explained the pre-set plan against Head, though it eventually fell flat on its back.
Australia make solid start to Boxing Day Test in rainy Melbourne
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
Steely Smith sees Australia to series win against England
Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden feels that David Warner and Travis Head are the ideal duo to open for Australia at the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup which is set to begin on October 5.
Mitchell Marsh won the prestigious Allan Border Medal at the 2024 Australian Cricket Awards
IMAGES from Day 3 of the opening Test played between Australia and Pakistan in Perth on Saturday.
Head said the win was a culmination of the hard work put in over the last two years.
The injury forced Smith to wear a wrist brace and miss the white ball tour of South Africa.
Australia lead the two-Test series against West Indies 1-0 after beating the Caribbeans by 164 runs in Perth.
Australian pacer Peter Siddle reminisced about his famous partnership with Steve Smith in 2019 at Edgbaston against England in the Ashes series ahead of Smith's 100th Test appearance.
Images from the first One-Day International between England and Australia, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Thursday.
By avoiding the follow-on and standing firm against Australia's aggression, India ensured that they stayed alive in the series.
Australian chair of selectors George Bailey said Fraser-McGurk and Short made "compelling cases" for selection, and provide better than adequate cover should squad members go down during the tournament.
'...there'll be nerves and a bit of pressure, but that's all part of it, and I'm just excited to see what it all brings.'
Fascinating glimpses from Day 1 of the first Test between India and Australia in Nagpur.
IMAGES from the World Cup match between Australia and England played in Ahmedabad on Saturday
Shamar Joseph took 7 wickets to lead the Windies to a big win
''The Oval can present itself with some spin occasionally, particularly as the game wears on. So we could face some sort of similarities to what we had in India at certain stages of the game.'
The 37-year-old spat blood and was feeling his jaw before leaving the ground.
Joe Root became England's most successful batter after he became the first batter from his nation to go past the 19,000-run mark
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the third Test against Australia in Brisbane?
'One of my big strengths has been adapting on the go, understanding what they are trying to do and solving the problem out there in the middle.'
Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith believe that Virat Kohli is an Australian in the way he thinks, acts, and has the desire to perform in big games.
Smith will look to reprise his performance from the 2019 Ashes series in England, where he amassed 774 runs in his four Tests
Pat Cummins is looking at the upcoming five-Test series against India as a chance to 'make amends' for the successive defeats at home against their fierce rivals.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and India in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Maxwell has starred with bat and ball in Australia's white ball teams since coming back from his broken leg last year.
'A lot to work on but this is the blueprint of the way we want to play Test cricket and hopefully we'll keep doing that.'
