Steve Smith is open to moving down the batting order if Travis Head returns from injury during the one-day World Cup, but believes his teammate has "a fair way to go" to prove his fitness.
It comes as Australia prepares to face hosts India in stifling conditions for their tournament opener on Sunday.
Opener Head fractured his hand during the tour of South Africa last month and is unavailable until the second half of the World Cup.
Head's injury has pushed allrounder Mitch Marsh to the top of the batting order, where he has averaged 50.5 runs in four innings partnering David Warner.
Australia are expected to announce further details of Head's recovery timeline next week.
"He's still got a fair way to go before he's potentially even fit, if he is fit," Smith said.
Smith's preferred batting position in 50-over cricket is at first drop, where he is expected to line up against India in Chennai.
He has not batted anywhere other than third in a ODI since 2019.
But if Head recovers midway through the tournament, a reshuffle could push Marsh to third and Smith further down the order.
"It'll be interesting. Fingers crossed 'Heady' can come up," Smith said.
"Mitch is batting really nicely up top in the couple of games he's played, Davey's there obviously.
"Three is my favourite position but I'll bat wherever I suppose if Heady comes back. We'll see how we go.
"We'll cross that bridge I suppose if it comes up."
Australia posted their worst result at an ODI World Cup the last time the tournament was played in India: A quarter-final loss to the hosts in 2011.
But this time around, their squad boasts considerable experience playing white-ball cricket in subcontinent conditions.
Of Australia's 15-player World Cup squad, 13 have IPL experience and last month's three ODIs marked the sixth white-ball series Australia has played in India since 2019.
The conditions are likely to be challenging despite their familiarity; tops of 33C degrees and 77 per cent humidity are forecast for match day.
"The couple of games we've played here, the heat's been a huge factor," Smith said.
"It takes a lot out of you physically, and then the mental side as well, when you're physically cooked, it comes into play too.
"We've had a couple of weeks here to acclimatise if you can actually do that in this heat. We've had a few good hit-outs, the guys are ready to get stuck in."
India's Shubman Gill is in doubt for the game after going down with dengue fever in the lead-up, but the 24-year-old will be given as much time as possible to prove his fitness.
"We'll keep monitoring on a day-to-day basis," coach Rahul Dravid said on Friday.
"We've got 36 hours. We'll wait to take a decision at the last minute we possibly can. We'll see how he feels day after tomorrow."
