India's pink-ball preparations for the Adelaide Test are at risk of being ruined by Canberra's rain, with a radical one-day split-overs match a back-up option for the Prime Minister's XI clash.
India are set to play their only official tour match of the summer in Canberra this weekend, with the day-night pink-ball match squeezed into a two-day fixture.
However there are fears Saturday's play could be washed out entirely, with up to 50mm of rain forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology around Manuka Oval.
A thunderstorm is also predicted for the final day on Sunday, with the forecast at least looking slightly better and a chance of some play.
India have not played a pink-ball match since March 2022. They were bowled out for 36 in their most recent day-night Test in Australia in 2020.
The tourists had planned on using this weekend's match to give Rohit Sharma a hit-out in Australia, after he missed their 295-run win in the opening Test in Perth for the birth of his second child.
If rain does wash out all of Saturday's play, AAP understands one option is for the two sides to split the overs on Sunday while still using a pink ball.
That would give India time to prepare with both the bat and ball, five days out from the second Test in Adelaide.
It comes as Australian selectors opted against putting out-of-form batters into the PM's XI, believing they could instead get work done in the nets ahead of the second Border-Gavaskar Test.
NSW allrounder Jack Edwards will captain the hosts in Canberra, with Matt Renshaw, Sam Konstas and Scott Boland the Test hopefuls in the team.
"We're very excited to get out there. Hopefully the rain can stay away. It's not looking very good right now," Edwards said on Friday.
"It's an amazing opportunity ... to come up against (Virat) Kohli and Sharma and some of the best players in the world.
"Any opportunity we get to pick their brains (will be great). If we do get a bit of rain, we might try to get a few conversations going there.
"You can't take for granted the opportunity to speak to the world's best and try and learn something about them to better your own game."
Renshaw and Konstas have the most to gain out of the match, after Nathan McSweeney won the race to start the Test summer as Australia's opener.
Konstas, Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris each failed to make big scores for Australia A against India A this month, while Renshaw was overlooked.
Even if Australia's top order gets through this summer intact, a transition period looms for the Test team over the next 18 months.
"Any opportunity to play cricket you look at a chance to put your name forward. You just try and do your best and score runs and take wickets," Edwards said.
