The future of David Warner's Test may be speculative, but his pure bowling position is changing, and the opening of the Delhi Capitals' dominance in the IPL.

The 36-year-old has returned to India in the Australian ODI side but his preparations for Friday night's opening clash remain uncertain despite recovering from a broken elbow in the second Test.

His departure opened the way for Travis Head to win the top of the series and his success, leading to 176 points and four digs, raised questions about the future of Warner in the red ball after his first series of failures.

Australia manager Andrew McDonald has noted that Warner is firm in the national coaches' plans for the final World Test series, against India at The Oval in July, but that is as far as his commitment goes as retirement talks loom.

"I think you work through that conversation, and how each player ends up is always different," McDonald said.

“Some want to get out of the way, and others are fine and can be pushed aside. But at the time Dave has been included in our plans for the World Test Championship, he is coming back for the one-day series, he has recovered from his injury there so we will see Dave back in Australia on the 17th we will get out of there. .

"We are talking to our old players about what they have to come. Looking at the schedule ahead of us, we are looking at 274 days on the road - 144 for the red ball team, 130 for the white ball team.

“So there will be give and take in this area. We have great depth, coverage in all areas and we talk to our veteran players regularly to find out where they are in terms of their careers.

Warner has expressed his intention to play in Australia's ODI and T20 teams until at least the next T20 World Cup in 2024 and a possible move to franchise cricket.

He remains the favorite of the IPL team and will travel to Delhi, where Australian great Ricky Ponting is coaching, to replace the injured Rishabh Pant.

The IPL captaincy is nothing new for Warner, who captained Sunrisers to the title in 2016. He has the fifth best record as a league batsman, winning 35 of the 69 matches he has captained.

But his lifetime captaincy ban for the Australian team remains in place, part of punishment for his role in the 2018 sandpaper scandal.