The four players Paine thinks are vying for a Test cap in Australia A series

Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine is excited by the Australia A squad that’s been chosen to face India A in an upcoming two-match series.

17 players were named in the squad for the series and Paine has picked out four that he thinks are potentially in line to jump into the Test team this summer - Tasmania’s Beau Webster, Victoria’s Marcus Harris and WA duo Aaron Hardie and Cameron Bancroft.

With Cameron Green out of the Border-Gavaskar Test series with a back injury, Paine expects one of that quartet to take his place with their performances in the ‘A’ series no doubt set to have an impact on who gets the nod.

If Australia pick a specialist opener to replace Green, with Steve Smith moving back into the middle order, then Paine thinks the battle is between Harris and Bancroft.

But if selectors go for a like-for-like all-rounder option, that choice should come down to Webster or Hardie.

“I think clearly Beau Webster and Aaron Hardie are vying for potentially a Test cap come the start of the summer,” Paine told SEN Tassie.

“Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft are the same if they decide to go with a specialist opener.”

As well as the experienced quartet who are vying for a Test role, Paine also liked the additions of youngsters Cooper Connolly from WA and Sam Konstas from NSW as he feels that the 21-year-old and 19-year-old respectively could have big futures in Aussie colours.

“Cooper Connolly has been exposed a little bit to white ball cricket, so to see him exposed to some red-ball cricket after some good performances for WA in the first game and the Shield final is great,” Paine said.

“Maybe not the surprise, but I also like the selection of Sam Konstas after he became the youngest player to make two tons in the same Shield game since Ricky Ponting last week.

“I like it when we grab someone who we can see is really, really talented, let’s see what he’s got.”

Dates have yet to be confirmed for the ‘A’ series but the matches are set to take place in Mackay and Melbourne.

The first of five Border-Gavaskar Series Tests between Australia and India begins on November 22 in Perth.