Australian captain Pat Cummins has confirmed that Scott Boland will make his long-awaited return to Test cricket this week, picked for the day-night contest against India in Adelaide.

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Boland, who hasn’t played Test cricket since the 2023 Ashes in England, will replace the injured Josh Hazlewood in the Australian starting XI for the second Test, which commences on Friday.

Hazlewood was ruled out of the pink-ball Test with a minor side injury, while all-rounder Mitchell Marsh retains his spot despite nursing a niggle from the series opener.

Beau Webster, who had a brilliant 2023-24 Shield campaign with both bat (938 runs) and ball (30 wickets) and was called into the squad as cover, misses out on a Test debut.

Cummins said that Marsh, who is struggling to overcome back stiffness associated with the tour of the UK in cold conditions in September, had received clearance to bowl from medical staff.

Although the Western Australian has not sent down a delivery in the nets, he has confidence that the Allan Border Medallist will deliver when called on.

“We made the call with the medical team over the last couple of days to give him another couple days off bowling,” Cummins said.

“We expect him to warm up and, if required, to bowl. And yeah, I’m guessing he probably will be required at some stage.”

Cummins did not rule out Marnus Labuschagne being called on again with the ball despite the criticism the Queenslander received after his deeds in Perth.

But the preference, he made clear, was for the frontline attack to take centre stage, saying the No.3 bowled more in Perth after the realisation that premier paceman Josh Hazlewood was carrying a niggle.

“Obviously in Perth, Josh, he was getting a little bit sore as well towards the end, so there (was) a bit of preservation there,” he said.

“Whereas in this Test,(everyone is) fit and firing. So that remains the case. As a general rule, you try to rely on your full time guys.”

That, in part, is the beauty of Boland. While his season in County cricket was cut short by injury, the Australians prize his ability to serve as a workhouse as much as he is capable of nipping the ball about in the Adelaide conditions.

“Traditionally here there’s normally a little bit of nip, which obviously suits Scotty quite well,” he said.

“All last summer (he was) geared up to go and no-one fell over.l, so it feels like it’s been quite a while (since he has played a Test).

“Obviously he had a good little hit out in Canberra a couple days ago as well, so he’s feeling really good. He’s happy with how it’s coming out and his rhythm.

“As a captain, it’s pretty awesome for someone like Scotty to come straight in. We know he can bowl a huge amount of overs if you need (and he is) super consistent. He’s performed at this level. So he looks ready to go.”

Hazlewood, meanwhile, bowled at three-quarter pace in the nets on Thursday and will put his hand up to play the Third Test at the Gabba.

Cummins said by easing his load in Perth once the Test had got away from the hosts, they had been able to minimise the extent of an injury that could have led to “three, four, five weeks” on the sidelines.

The second Test between Australia and India gets underway at Adelaide Oval on Friday at 3pm AEDT.

Australian XI for Adelaide Test

Usman Khawaja

Nathan McSweeney

Marnus Labuschagne

Steve Smith

Travis Head

Mitchell Marsh

Alex Carey (wk)

Mitchell Starc

Pat Cummins (c)

Nathan Lyon

Scott Boland