The 32-year-old Starc was diagnosed with a detached tendon in the middle finger and missed the third and final Test against the Proteas at Sydney.
Australia have won only four Test series in India in three quarters of a century of touring the country, the last coming in 2004.
With Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane unbeaten at the end of the penultimate day of the WTC Final, will India pull off another stunning win?
Travis Head returned from COVID-19 to smash a belligerent 101 and Cameron Green made 74 to revive Australia after a top-order collapse on the opening day of the day-night final Ashes Test against England on Friday.
'Steve Smith, according to me, is the best Test player of this generation. He has displayed that his adaptability is absolutely brilliant. You take any cricketer of this generation... in 85-90 Tests, he has an average of 60 which is quite unbelievable.'
Australia are on the cusp of a series victory in Sri Lanka and captain Pat Cummins believes the exposure to sub-continental conditions augurs well for their next big target of winning a Test series in India next year.
Australia laboured to a modest 263 all out on the opening day of the second Test against India in New Delhi
India have recalled Ajinkya Rahane to reinforce their batting line-up, which will have to be at its best to negate the Australian attack.
India have managed to keep a tight rein on Smith.
Images from the second ODI between England and Australia, at Old Trafford in Manchester, on Sunday
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and Australia, at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi, on Sunday.
Team India is all set to take on Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship final from Wednesday at The Oval and this 'Ultimate Test' also brings with it a set of milestones that players can establish during the course of the match.
'To be able to then just work through it, and you could see there definitely was a shift after the second game just from his own performance, you'd see there's a little bit of extra intensity in him after that.'
In the latest ICC ODI Rankings, Mohammed Siraj was dethroned from the top as he slipped to third place, while Josh Hazlewood climbed to the top.
Images from the ICC Men's ODI World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Ekana Sports City Stadium in Lucknow.
Australia's Marnus Labuschange struck another half century to pile on the runs and the misery over New Zealand on Day 3 of the day-night Test in Perth on Saturday. Earlier, Starc picked a five-wicket haul.
South Africa were bowled out for 152 in the first innings at the formerly-named Brisbane Cricket Ground. They were then routed for 99 shortly after tea on day two, leaving Australia needing just 34 runs for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
David Warner has been under pressure after a poor run of form with the bat but returned after injury to the 17-man squad for the June 7 WTC final against India at The Oval and the first two Ashes Tests.
India are chasing a victory in Ahmedabad to confirm their place in the final of the World Test Championship against Australia in June.
The hosts then raced to 199-6 in 31 overs, effectively batting West Indies out of the contest, before declaring their second innings.
India clinched the four-Test series against Australia 2-1 after the fourth and final Test ended in a draw in Ahmedabad on Monday.
India's Ravindra Jadeja also remained on top of the all-rounders' table.
Poor batting was at the heart of the debacle.
The hosts, who had a put up a massive first innings score of 598-4 before declaring, opted not to enforce the follow-on and reached 29-1 at stumps.
India's injury woes deepened on the opening day of the fourth Test against Australia at the Gabba on Friday as pacer Navdeep Saini was forced to come off the field after lunch following an apparent groin issue.
Images from Day 2 of the third Test between Australia and India, at the SCG, on Friday.
Australia batsman Steve Smith has had plenty of ups and downs in his career which probably prepared him for when his evening plans were ruined on Thursday after being trapped in an elevator between floors for 55 minutes before he was rescued.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test played between India and Australia at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday
In the T20I rankings, Suryakumar Yadav continues his reign at the top of the batting charts, driven by his brilliant century in the third T20I against Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar Yadav consolidated his position atop the rankings after his stupendous 111 not out in the second T20I against New Zealand. He gained 31 rating points from the series. His 890 points kept him 54 ahead of Pakistan's Mohammed Rizwan, who is placed second.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 3rd Test between Australia and New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on Saturday
Tom Latham led New Zealand out on the field in Sydney on Friday in the absence of unwell Kane Williamson. Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Test between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on Friday
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar picked Australia's batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne as the player who most reminds him of himself, calling the fast-rising batsman a special talent with impeccable footwork. The 25-year-old Labuschagne became Test cricket's leading scorer in the calendar year 2019 with 1,104 runs. He broke into the scene after coming in as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith during the Ashes last August.
Australia looked destined for their biggest score of the series against India after a half century from debutant opener Will Pucovski helped them to 166 for two at the end of the rain-disrupted first day of the third Test in Sydney on Thursday.
Images from Day 1 of the second Test between India and Australia, at the Arun Jaitley stadium, in Delhi, on Friday.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between Australia and India at the SCG, on Thursday.
India were 36 for one at stumps, with debutant Shubman Gill 28 not out and Cheteshwar Pujara on seven after the loss of opener Mayank Argarwal for a duck, after dismissing Australia for 195.
Indian cricket team will not just be looking to win a third ODI global title but also look at saving the '50-over format' which has been battling identity crisis for at least five years now.
K L Rahul struck an unbeaten 75 to anchor their nervy chase against Australia in a low-scoring contest and secure a five-wicket win in the opening one-day international.
Australian run-machine Marnus Labuschagne is willing to "sacrifice" the use of saliva to shine the ball in order to get back on the field in the post coronavirus world as the batting all-rounder feels players must be able to adapt to new rules. There has been widespread speculations that the use of saliva and sweat to shine the ball will be stopped to cut down the risk of spreading the highly contagious coronavirus when cricket restarts.
