Captain Pat Cummins has hinted that Australia may continue its bouncer ploy at the Gabba this week after confirming Josh Hazlewood would return to the starting XI for the third Test against India.

Watch every ball of Australia v India LIVE & ad-break free during play in 4K on Kayo | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.

Hazlewood, who missed the pink-ball Adelaide Test with a side complaint, will replace fellow seamer Scott Boland for the Brisbane Test, which gets underway in the Queensland capital on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters at the Gabba on Friday morning, Cummins confirmed the injury-prone Hazlewood had “no hiccups” heading into the third Test.

“He had a really good bowl yesterday, had another bowl in Adelaide a couple of days previous,” Cummins said.

“Him and the medical team are super confident.”

Boland, who has taken 33 Test wickets at 13.54 in Australia, has been the Test side’s perennial 12th man over the last couple of years, only playing one of the team’s 11 most recent matches. The Victorian claimed five wickets at Adelaide Oval last week, including the crucial dismissals of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

However, Cummins is confident Boland will be called upon again at some stage later in the series.

“It’s tough. He was fantastic in Adelaide,” Cummins continued.

“He’s unfortunately spent quite a bit of time on the bench over the last 18 months. And whenever he plays, he’s fantastic. Shame for Scotty.

“But there’s still a fair bit to play out in this series, so I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get another crack at some point.

“He’s amazing every time he plays, we absolutely love him around the group.

“It’s just about (him) preparing for MCG, because there’s a good chance we might need (him). History suggests there’s always some form of natural attrition throughout the Test series.

“He showed that his standard’s still super high. He knows he takes wickets against these guys, so it’s just about trying to set him up for those last two Test matches.”

Cummins snared his 13th five-wicket haul in Tests at Adelaide Oval last week, with the majority of his dismissals coming from bouncers.

When asked if the bumper ploy would continue at the Gabba, the 31-year-old responded: “Yeah, potentially.

“It worked out in the Adelaide Test. It’s always in the back of your mind as a bit of a Plan B, or if it’s looking really uncomfortable and likely to take wickets, maybe it comes with Plan A for some of the batters.

“It worked in Adelaide, so I’m sure we’ll give it a shot at some point this Test.”

Cummins also backed vice-captain Steve Smith to rediscover his best in Brisbane after a lean trot with the bat. The New South Welshman hasn’t reached triple figures since last year’s Ashes contest at Lord’s, while he has a top score of 17 from his six most recent Test innings.

Meanwhile, Smith has averaged 23.20 this year, with one fifty in seven Tests, with his batting average dipping to 56.09, the lowest it’s been since 2015.

“You look at his record, stats would suggest (runs) are not far around the corner,” Cummins said.

“In particular this year, he’s looking fantastic in the nets, just looking really sharp, looking like he’s got plenty of time. doing all the right things like he always does.

“He got caught down the leg side last game. I don’t know if you can look into that too much, so I’m sure a big score’s just around the corner.”

With the Test series locked at 1-1 with three matches to play, Cummins emphasised the importance of Australia winning at home, especially in the World Test Championship era.

“There’s definitely pride in winning in Australia,“ Cummins declared.

“These are our home conditions. These are the conditions we grew up playing with.

“The hardest thing in cricket nowadays is winning Test series away from home, so to make that World Test Championship, you’ve got to win everything at home and try and pick up some wins overseas where you can.

“We definitely go into every home series here expecting to win. That’s what we grew up watching. That’s the standard we’ve set ourselves.”

The third Test between Australia and India gets underway at the Gabba on Saturday at 11.20am AEDT.