According to coach Darren Lehmann, Australian captain Steve Smith can bat wherever he wants.
But he added the stage was set for Usman Khawaja to revive his international career at No.3 after Smith's selfless decision to demote himself for the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane.
The spotlight is on recalled duo Khawaja and Joe Burns ahead of the Gabba series opener starting on Thursday.
However, Khawaja may be feeling the most heat slotting into new skipper Smith's vacated No.3 spot two years after the last of his nine Tests.
Lehmann said there was no pressure on Smith to demote himself in order to provide "more balance" in the inexperienced batting line-up.
"He can bat wherever he wants," Lehmann told Sky Sports Radio on Monday.
"I said 'if you want to bat three you can bat three, if you want four you can bat four' - we discussed it, talked about the pros and cons.
"He had great success at three at the Ashes mixed in with some indifferent performances I suppose and he has great success at four so it doesn't matter so much - it's more the (team) selection."
Smith told News Corp he would move down to No.4 for "team balance" but Lehmann claimed they also had Khawaja's Test revival in mind.
"Khawaja has been successful at three, so we have given him the opportunity to bat where he does for his state (Queensland), give him first crack," Lehmann said.
Stats back Lehmann up.
In eight Sheffield Shield matches at the Gabba, Khawaja has stroked 839 runs at 69.92, including three tons.
Only two of his 15 Shield innings in Brisbane have not been at No.3.
After nine Tests, Khawaja has 377 runs at 25.13 with just two 50s.
Lehmann said the stage was set for Khawaja to stake a long term Test claim at his home ground.
"We know he is a great technician and he has time which is important at this level," Lehmann said of Khawaja.
"He knows conditions well here at the Gabba - the time is right for him to perform."
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