National selectors face a tough ask in January as Australia prepare for both a critical Test tour and Twenty20 World Cup.
Steve Smith's side face West Indies in the SCG Test that starts on Sunday but for the rest of the month they will be in white-ball mode.
India will soon arrive for a five-match ODI series and three T20 fixtures.
Australia will then cross the Tasman for three ODIs and two Tests against New Zealand before setting their minds on T20 glory in India.
The busy schedule will raise plenty of questions for Rod Marsh's panel.
For example, should Mitch Marsh play ODIs in NZ or the Sheffield Shield game that is on at the same time?
"I don't look that far ahead to be brutally honest. It's a long way away," Mitch Marsh said of the clash.
Cricket Australia has taken the unprecedented action of shifting a Shield match to the NZ town of Lincoln.
The fixture between NSW and Western Australia will essentially serve as a tour match before the two-Test series.
There's an argument Marsh, who averages 24.87 with the bat in Tests and has been starved of time at the crease this summer, would be better served playing for WA instead of Australia.
Since being recalled to the Test side at the expense of Shane Watson in the Ashes, Marsh has passed 30 with the bat once.
That's partly due to the run gluttons at the top of the order, hence why Marsh isn't too bothered by the situation.
The 24-year-old is confident runs in the upcoming one-day series against India will help him prepare for NZ's swing kings Trent Boult and Tim Southee.
"Time in the middle is time in the middle," Mitch Marsh said.
"Hopefully I'll get an opportunity in the one-day team.
"I've been really happy with my preparation for each game and I've gone in very confident with my batting.
"It's just about getting the opportunity but if blokes keep making hundreds that's fine."
Marsh has no issue with the hectic schedule.
"We play so many different formats, you just get used to it," he said.
The ODI action starts on January 12 in Perth, with selectors expected to name their squad during or after the final Test.
Players overlooked for the upcoming ODI series will still have a chance to whack the white ball in the Big Bash League.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood, who is desperate to play all six Tests this summer, is likely to be given a spell during the action against India.
Smith is nursing hip and knee niggles but the skipper has made it clear he intends to play every game this summer.
Rod Marsh's panel will want to select a full-strength T20 squad for clashes with India on January 26, 29 and 31.
Australia played just one T20 fixture in 2015 and skipper Aaron Finch missed that game in Cardiff, underling how much the squad will need to gel quickly.
Australia's T20 World Cup campaign starts with a match against NZ in Dharamsala on March 18.
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