MITCHELL JOHNSON: Steve Smith’s poor form in Sheffield Shield puts him under pressure ahead of India series

Steve Smith and big runs. For so long a constant of the Aussie summer.

As reliable as a big crowd on Boxing Day and rain at the SCG.

Sheffield Shield form isn’t everything for Australia’s established Test stars but Smith’s double failure this week did serve as a reminder that the 35-year-old can’t take anything for granted against India this summer.

Smith has had an interesting past 12 months. Nothing has been consistent about it with his controversial move to open the batting – supposedly to rejuvenate his career – now aborted ahead of a move back to No.4.

This is the most pressure he has been under since coming back to cricket following his ban with a glorious Ashes return in England in 2019.

The hope is that a return to the familiarity of No.4 will settle Smith, who still averages a tick under 57, but a tough India attack won’t be rolling out the welcome mat for anyone.

So is it time to be concerned? Sometimes when you are in the Aussie XI and go back to shield cricket performances can vary and it shouldn’t necessarily be looked at as an indication of what lies ahead for the series.

But it will be interesting to see if someone of Smith’s experience can put it all together this summer after missing out on what was likely his only red-ball game before the Test series.

While Smith will turn his attention to one-day cricket before the Test series, selectors need to fill his vacant opening position and it offers a great opportunity to start putting plans in place for the future.

Although retired, David Warner has put his hand up to return. I’m not sure what the point of playing one more series would be.

If I’m a selector in this circumstance, I’m looking to develop the next generation for this Australian team. Not bringing a retired player back into what is already an ageing team for one series.

This is a critical period for the Aussies as they approach an inevitable regeneration. It’s an opportunity to get some younger players in when experience is still there.

Everyone has an opinion on who should open with Usman Khawaja at Optus Stadium next month. If I’m honest, I don’t even know what the selectors are looking for in a new opener.

If we look at the past few years and the make-up of the top six, they have looked to have a balanced line-up with some shot makers combined with more traditional Test batsmen.

If the opening role was to be like for like after the Warner era, a white-ball blaster such as Jake Fraser-McGurk could be a future opener.

More immediately, Josh Inglis has put his hand up with a couple of shield tons and could score at a good pace to complement Khawaja.

Inglis has a good temperament and has some good experience behind him now. I like that he has a decent defence but he can also go after an attack when needed.

He could fill that role as an opener. I’m sure he would love to be the No.1 wicketkeeper but this could give him time in Test cricket to get better and grow as a batsman and if anything was to happen to Alex Carey, with injury or form, he could then play that role.

That situation aside, for the now I think Inglis is a strong option and he has already opened for Australia in one-day internationals.

Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw shouldn’t be overlooked either as they are specialists and although Bancroft and Renshaw haven’t got off to the best starts to the season, they would still be deserving of a crack.

Whichever way they go, we know we won’t get someone with Warner’s record and that’s OK. This is the process and this has happened throughout the history of the game.

The growth of this team is important and while this is going to be a tough series against India, we need to move forward.