Tim Paine concedes Australia's Test cohort playing in the Indian Premier League probably won't get any first-class cricket under their belt before a big home series against India.
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The Australian men's team will host India for four Tests this summer, with the dates and venues yet to be locked in.
The IPL final is on November 10, while a four-round block of Sheffield Shield in Adelaide begins this weekend and finishes with a match between New South Wales and Victoria from November 17.
Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Steve Smith and David Warner are overseas with IPL sides.
It is not known when the Test squad may come together but Paine said it was unlikely there would be enough time for those players to have a first-class hit-out beforehand.
"I wouldn't have thought so, with restrictions coming back into the country," he said on Tuesday.
However, Paine backed the group to make a seamless switch from the short to longest form.
"These are guys that have transferred from white-ball to red-ball, from Test cricket to Twenty20 cricket, within a matter of days," he said.
"It's never been an issue and we wouldn't expect it to be."
Australia were originally planning to play a one-off Test against Afghanistan in November as a lead-in to the India series, but that was postponed last month because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Paine will skipper Tasmania and also take the gloves when the Tigers meet Queensland in the first round of the Sheffield Shield starting on Saturday.
The Test captain played grade cricket in Tasmania at the weekend but didn't get a bat in a rain-shortened match.
Paine said he had shaken off a hamstring twinge and there were no plans to reduce his wicketkeeping workload.
"I feel like the more I do it, the better my body feels," he said.
Australian Associated Press
