The pace bowler has secured over 300 dismissals in 71 five-day games with an stellar bowling average.
The Australian chair of selectors George Bailey has confirmed that captain Pat Cummins will play a "major part" in this winter's England-Australia contest.
Speculation had been growing that the 32-year-old might sit out due to a stress fracture in his back that remained unresolved.
Initial reports from team management suggested no final decision had been made regarding whether he would play, with the Test matches set to start on 21 November in the WACA.
Bailey expressed that Cummins is "building up" and was "optimistic" about his chances of being involved.
"We're aware that the clock is ticking and various factors around that, not only his injury, but further aspects," the selector added.
"The outlook is good. We firmly believe that he will feature a major part. Ideally it's the first Test. Otherwise, we'll reassess."
Previous Setbacks
Cummins was ruled out the ODI and T20 games against both Asian and Trans-Tasman rivals in the previous weeks after scans revealed a stress reaction in his back.
There is a track record of recurring issues, with recurrences in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 forcing him out of multiple domestic campaigns in a limited period.
The bowler mentioned he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his recovery plan to make the squad for the Ashes.
The selector indicated that it was unclear if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his comeback but acknowledged it was "getting tight" for him to regain fitness for the first Test.
Alternative Arrangements
In case of absence, veteran batsman Smith will take over the captaincy.
The talented all-rounder was recently pulled out from the ODI lineup for their limited-overs matches against the subcontinent side as a precautionary measure because of an abdominal issue.
Bailey described it as a "slight concern and stated that he'll feature in the state-level matches, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."
"Considerable effort has gone into developing the strategy for him to participate for the first Test as an batting and bowling option," Bailey explained.
"He was only going to play the first two ODIs anyway. How he handles the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, if it causes any delay for 24 more hours, we opted to take a cautious route."
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