Sydney, Australia

Cricket Australia chief selector George Bailey has ended all speculations over Steve Smith’s batting position against India in the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar series. Addressing the media ahead of the Pakistan white-ball series starting November 4, Bailey confirmed that Smith will return to his favourite number four position following his brief stint as a Test opener. He also confirmed that all-rounder Cameron Green will miss the marquee series against India.

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Smith replaced David Warner at the top following his Test retirement. In his second match as an opener, Smith hit a gritty 91 against West Indies in Brisbane, although the visitors came on top in a famous win. Against New Zealand in the series after that, Smith struggled, scoring just 51 runs in four innings. 

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Green, who played at number four in Smith’s place, got ruled out of the summer after deciding to opt for the surgery on his back that troubled him lately. 

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Bailey confirmed that Captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald decided to bring Smith back to number four in Tests.

"Pat, Andrew and Steve Smith had been having ongoing conversations, separate to the untimely injury to Cameron (Green)," Bailey said as quoted by cricket.australia.au. "Steve had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position, and Pat and Andrew have confirmed that he will be dropping back down the order for the summer."

While Australia has three options to choose from in Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw to replace Smith at the top, Sam Konstas’ fireworks in the Sheffield Shield with twin tons have rocketed his chances of bagging his maiden Australia call-up for the India series.

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Green to miss India series

On the other hand, a bigger problem lies ahead of the decision-makers in the Australian camp, with whom to replace Green in the playing XI. The lanky all-rounder will undergo lower spine surgery, sidelining him from any on-field cricket for at least six months.

Following lengthy consultations with CA’s medical team over the fortnight after his initial scans in the UK, Green decided to get the titanium cable infused into his lower back to stabilise the stress fracture and prevent future occurrences.

"Cam has a unique defect in an adjacent area to the fracture that is believed to be contributing to the injury," the statement said. "After thorough consultation, it was determined Cameron would benefit from the surgery to stabilise the defect and reduce the risk of future recurrence."

Meanwhile, the first Test against India starts on November 22 in Perth. 

(With inputs from agencies)