Richardson feeling his way back as Sydney looms

Fringe paceman Jhye Richardson isn't over-thinking the prospect of playing in the fifth Test against India in Sydney, but will do his best to seize the opportunity should it arise.

Richardson was drafted into Australia's Test squad for the recently-completed Boxing Day Test, three days after he publicly stated it is "unrealistic for me to think about international cricket".

Now, with Josh Hazlewood's right calf on ice and Mitchell Starc seemingly bothered by a side strain against India in Melbourne, Richardson is well in the frame to play his first Test in more than three years.

"It's hard to think about that (prospect of playing the next Test)," said Richardson, who took five second-innings wickets in his third and most recent Test, the pink-ball Ashes clash against England at Adelaide Oval in December 2021.

"You can't spend too much energy wondering about what's going to happen with selections.

"(I'm) trying to not think about it too much but if the opportunity arises, I'll do my best to grab it."

Richardson has played two second XI matches and one Shield fixture - in November, when he hurt his troublesome right shoulder while celebrating a wicket - in more than a year.

The 28-year-old has taken 6-81 in three BBL games since returning from the injury, most recently a match-winning 3-29 on New Year's Eve as the Perth Scorchers trounced the Adelaide Strikers by seven wickets.

Richardson didn't expect to receive the call to join the Aussies in Melbourne, admitting he is still feeling his way back.

"It was a bit of a surprise, having only played a couple of second XI games and one Shield game," he said. "It was nice, but I feel I'm not completely there yet.

"I feel like I've got a bit more of the process to go, especially coming back from the shoulder and hamstring (injuries), to get back there consistently."

National coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Tuesday that Richardson has "had a heavy week with us (Australian side) in the nets" and would be "capable of bowling 40-plus overs if he was called upon".

Richardson, who will fly to Sydney on New Year's Day to join the Test team, is unsure at this stage whether he will be required to bowl more net spells at the SCG, or put his feet up.

"It's about preparing as well as I can leading into the Test and seeing what happens," he said. "I know the guys have got a main session tomorrow (Wednesday).

"See how we go in terms of bowling; it (instructions) might just be to rest up until the Test."

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: India won by 295 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: Australia won by 184 runs

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal