Australia's hopes of retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy have been dealt an almighty blow, with spearhead Mitchell Starc to return home because of a foot injury.
Starc was sent for scans on Friday morning in Bangalore. The left-armer has been diagnosed with a stress fracture and will play no further part in the four-Test series, which is level at 1-1.
Team medicos are upbeat the issue is not serious and Starc will be fit for June's Champions Trophy.
The express paceman's setback has thrown Australia's plans into chaos for the third Test, which begins on Thursday in Ranchi.
Selectors are yet to settle on Starc's replacement in the touring party. The obvious temptation will be to summon Pat Cummins or James Pattinson, who boast immense talent but have been beset in recent years by a series of injuries.
Cummins just completed his first Sheffield Shield match in six years, earning man-of-the-match honours, but the injury-prone quick had been told to focus on a return in the 2017-18 Ashes.
Pattinson, one of four players suspended amid the 'homeworkgate' scandal during Australia's 2013 tour of India, boasts more subcontinent experience than Cummins and is in the midst of his third-straight Shield game.
Jackson Bird is the only other quick in the touring party. Bird could replace Starc in the XI but he is not a like-for-like replacement, offering control and subtle movement more than Starc's aggression and intimidation.
Selectors might opt to pick a third spinner and bank on Josh Hazlewood as their sole paceman if the pitch is a raging turner. That would almost certainly mean Marcus Stoinis debuts as the side's allrounder.
Starc, one of the first players picked in any Australian side, was arguably the most-important member of the team in India because of his potent mix of express pace, bounce, swing and reverse swing.
The 27-year-old was one of few Australians to enhance their subcontinent reputations in last year's 3-0 Test series loss to Sri Lanka, grabbing 24 wickets at 15.16.
Australia will also sorely miss Starc's clean striking.
A hard-hitting knock of 61 was critical in the series-opening boilover in Pune. Steve Smith and Matt Renshaw are the only Australians to have tallied more runs than Starc in this series.
Starc was inconsistent with the ball in Bangalore but sparked a fourth-day fightback in the second Test, dismissing Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair with consecutive balls.
"He's going to leak some runs but he's going to get some key wickets ... (he can) change a game like he did," coach Darren Lehmann said after India levelled the series with a 75-run win.
Indian captain Virat Kohli, speaking before the first Test, identified his former IPL teammate as the biggest threat to the top-ranked Test side.
"He has really taken his game to the next level and that's why he is counted among the top bowlers in world cricket," Kohli said.
"He has learned the art of reverse swing ... it's amazing to see the way he has developed his skills. That's something that every cricketer in the world would admire."
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