Steve Smith and David Warner will not be rushed back into the Australia side as soon as their bans expire next month but coach Justin Langer thinks it would be "crazy" not to include them in the World Cup squad.
The former Test captain and vice-captain, Australia's best two batsmen, will become eligible for state and international cricket on March 29 after serving one-year bans for their part in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.
The prospective return of both has been complicated by elbow injuries with Smith's more serious problem requiring major surgery and likely to sideline him right up to the expiration of his ban.
Coach Langer, who will prepare sides for both the World Cup defence and Ashes tour over the next few months, said the timing of their international returns would depend both on the injuries and also on how much cricket they were able to play.
"They're going to need to get some cricket before coming back into the squad. It's all part of the management. We'll have to wait and see," he said.
"We know it's been a tough time for them, it's been a tough time for Australian cricket, but we know the ... integration has been going for the last nine or ten months ... it's getting closer, isn't it? And that'll be a continued process.
"It's about how much cricket they get to play between now and then. They'll find opportunities. We'll find opportunities.
"We're talking about two great players, we're not talking about two really good players," he added.
"Two great players who on paper we'd be crazy not to have them in the team."
With both retained by their franchises for this year's Indian Premier League beginning on March 23 and Australia playing an ODI series against Pakistan in March-April, there will be plenty of opportunities for them to show their form and fitness.
Australia must select their squad for the World Cup on April 23 and the Cricinfo website reported that Smith might even be left out to allow him to play longer-form cricket and ensure he is good to go for the Ashes.
The Australian newspaper said the pair were unlikely to be involved in the series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates but would play in the IPL as preparation for the World Cup.
Windies president calls for slow over rate policy to be modified
The International Cricket Council (ICC) should modify its policy for slow over rates, Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron said on Tuesday.
Speaking in the wake of the suspension of captain Jason Holder from the third Test against England starting in St. Lucia on Saturday, Cameron questioned whether the player's absence was good for cricket.
Holder is the number one ranked all-rounder in the world.
West Indies won the second Test by 10 wickets in less than three days, for an unassailable 2-0 series lead, but Holder's subsequent suspension dampened the celebratory mood.
"We will, of course, abide by the ICC ruling, but we have to wonder if such punitive action at a pivotal stage of the series is good for cricket," Cameron said in a statement.
"What a shame if the series is remembered not for the sparkling play of the reinvigorated West Indies players but for a crippling decision made by a rule that ought to be modified."
Cameron did not specify exactly what modification he favoured, and he is not arguing the letter of the law.
Holder was suspended because he was deemed responsible for West Indies' slow over rate. The team was two overs short of its required minimum target for the match.
It is the second time Holder has been suspended.
Critics argue that forcing the team's captain to sit out is exactly what Test cricket does not need in its struggle to stay relevant in the Caribbean.
The first two Tests in Barbados and Antigua were both well attended, but the majority of the crowd were supporting England, not the home team.
"The game really doesn't help itself," tweeted former England batsman Michael Vaughan.
Retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne also weighed in.
"The Test didn't go three days. What a ridiculous decision. Where's the common sense here?" he tweeted.
The minimum required over rate in Tests is 15 per hour, though the number can be modified by the match referee to account for extenuating circumstances.
Opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite will captain West Indies in Holder's absence.
England's Denly keen to prove his worth in Ashes audition
England opener Joe Denly believes the chance to potentially seal a spot in the Ashes squad to face Australia later this year is the ideal motivation ahead of the third Test against the West Indies starting on Saturday.
The 32-year-old replaced the misfiring Keaton Jennings at the top of the order for the second Test at Antigua and made scores of six and 17 on debut in England's 10-wicket defeat as the tourists went 2-0 down in the three-match series.
The Kent batsman looks likely to get another opportunity when the teams face off at St Lucia in the third Test and Denly is treating the match as his Ashes audition.
"Playing in an Ashes series is an absolute dream and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it a little bit," Denly told reporters.
"Obviously with the opportunity I have in the next Test it is there, but it is important to try and not think about it as much as possible.
"I need to have a real focus on trying to get a score and prove to those guys who think I'm a stopgap, makeshift opener that I have got a future as an opener in Test cricket."
England have long struggled to find a strong opening pair and the problem has worsened after the experienced Alastair Cook retired last year, leaving them searching for solutions ahead of the Ashes series which gets underway at Edgbaston on Aug. 1.
Rory Burns has showed some promise in the five Tests he has played so far, scoring two half-centuries including 84 against West Indies in the first Test.
With England dropping Jennings, who averages 25.86 in Tests, short-form specialist Jason Roy could also come into consideration but Denly is hoping to stake his claim.
"I hope they see a future in me opening in Test cricket," Denly said.
"It's a great opportunity for me to try and make that position mine."
