Chief selector George Bailey has shut down the idea of Josh Inglis opening the batting for Australia this summer as the battle continues for the vacant spot.

With plenty of debate in recent weeks over who will partner Usman Khawaja in the upcoming five-game Test series against India, the 29-year-old had his name thrown into the mix recently off the back of strong domestic form.

Inglis has scored four centuries in his past seven outings at Sheffield Shield level, but has spent the majority of his red-ball career in the middle-order.

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Quizzed on whether Inglis had been discussed as an option to open, Bailey admitted the selectors had not considered it and would only look at him in his usual role.

“Not in the short-term, I don’t think that he’s someone that we would be looking to place at the top of the order,” he told reporters on Monday.

“There’s no doubt that his form is really fantastic at the moment … the ability to jump back into domestic cricket and dominate has been fantastic.

“I think in different series at different times of the year, he would firmly come into the mix purely as a batter the way he’s been going.

“If the right opportunity opened up throughout the summer, in the spots where we think he’s most capable of performing, I think he’d be firmly in that conversation as well.”

The comments from Bailey will narrow the race for the first game on November 22, leaving three key candidates vying for the position.

Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Nathan McSweeney have all been selected in the Australia A squad for tour matches beginning this week in what looms as a genuine shoot-out to don the baggy green.

“We’ve got three players who open the batting for their state and we’ve got one player who bats at three for their state,” Bailey said.

“We’re looking for performance. Any time there’s these opportunities, whether it’s real or not, there’s always the perception that there’s a little bit more pressure.

“Obviously, the standard of cricket is pretty high, so that’s always a great opportunity seeing how players interact in a different team to what they’re used to.

“We’ll have a selector present at both games and we’ll be watching closely.”

Konstas scored twin tons for NSW in their first game of the season, while Harris also reached triple-figures for Victoria.

Bancroft has struggled for Western Australia in the opening two games of the campaign, but has dominated at Shield level in recent years.

Inglis will play in the upcoming white-ball series against Pakistan.