Michael Clarke believes one-day international squad member Peter Forrest can continue his meteoric rise by forcing his way into the Test team.
Forrest moved to Queensland from New South Wales in the lead-up to the 2011-12 season seeking more domestic opportunities and was rewarded for his impressive interstate campaign with a call-up to Australia's Commonwealth Bank Series squad.
The 26-year-old middle-order batsman propelled himself into international calculations before Christmas by scoring 581 runs from six Sheffield Shield matches at an average of 58.1 and then enjoyed a decent Big Bash League campaign with the Brisbane Heat.
That earned the right-hander a surprise selection in Australia's team for the first three games of the ODI tri-series and the Australian captain said Forrest now has the potential to go further.
"Foz (Forrest) is a wonderful talent and has been pretty successful for Queensland this year," Clarke said.
"He's got a very good technique, he's a very good top-order batsman and I think he can play a big part in Australian cricket going forward."
"I think he's a very gifted player, he's a good fielder and very good player. It's not just in one-day cricket as well, I think he's got the potential to play Test cricket as well in the future."
"I think it gives him a great opportunity to see what it's like around the Australian change rooms and how we go about our work."
Coach Mickey Arthur indicated on Wednesday that Forrest was likely to make his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on Friday at the WACA Ground but Clarke said they wouldn't make a final decision until match day.
The rise of Forrest has provided extra competition to struggling Test incumbent Shaun Marsh, who is already facing challenges from the likes of Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja to hold onto his spot.
Marsh scored 79 in the first innings of his return to Shield action with Western Australia against Queensland, but was dismissed for just 12 in the second innings.
Clarke said he was happy to see Marsh, who was left out of the ODI squad, showing some positive signs in his first dig.
"Nice to see Shaun making some runs though. He's a very gifted and talented player and hopefully he continues to perform well and can force his way back into the Australia team," he said.