Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson on Marnus Labuschagne ahead of Adelaide match

He hasn't inherited the "Mr Cricket" nickname from Michael Hussey, but Marnus Labuschagne's appetite for the game is insatiable.

In the eyes of Michael Clarke and Callum Ferguson, going against the only way he's ever known could prove a masterstroke as he battles to overcome his slump in form.

Clarke thinks it could be worth Labuschagne taking a brief time away from cricket ahead of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, to be played as a day-night match with a pink ball at Adelaide Oval from December 6.

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"I know there's a lot of talk about Marnus being dropped, but I hope they give him another crack," Clarke said on ESPN's Around The Wicket.

"I still think he's our best option [at No.3]. I think he's a very good player who's out of form, but I think he can turn that around if he gets his preparation right and looks after his mind, probably even gets away from the game for a couple of days in the lead-up to this second Test."

The Australians have been engulfed in criticism in the wake of the Perth Test, in which they suffered a 295-run defeat at the hands of a resurgent Indian side spearheaded by mesmerising quick Jasprit Bumrah, and Labuschagne has copped the brunt of the backlash.

Marnus Labuschagne walks off after being dismissed on day three of the Perth Test between Australia and India. Getty

The right-hander made 2 from 52 balls in Australia's first dig, and before accepting his fate, burned a review in which a Mohammed Siraj delivery was shown to be crashing into leg.

In his second innings, in which he made 3, he was trapped lbw by Bumrah without offering a shot.

He had an average of 60.82 and was the No.1 men's Test batsman in the world in December 2022, but has since averaged 30.80 and tumbled to equal 14th in the rankings.

He's also made only one century from his past 41 Test innings.

"I like seeing the jovial Marnus, the guy that's got a lot of energy, has got a smile on his face out there on the park," Ferguson said on Around The Wicket.

"He probably doesn't have that level of enthusiasm in the field at the moment, which tells me he's probably thinking about his batting a little bit too much while he's out in the field, which is probably happening off the field.

"So I'd like to see him just take a breath, like Pup [Clarke] said even [take] a day or two away from picking up the bat, which is not him. Sometimes you do need a breather just to reset, and I think that would do him the world of good."

Finch called for Labuschagne to show more urgency at the crease in the wake of his painstaking innings that yielded two runs from 52 deliveries.

The former Test opener suspected Labuschagne was trying to spend a long time in the middle in his bid to arrest his dip in form, but warned against the danger of taking that approach on a wicket offering assistance to bowlers.

"The problem when you do that on wickets that have got something in it is one's going to have your name on it eventually," Finch said on Around The Wicket.

"So, in my opinion, his ability to try and transfer pressure, not soak it all up, [is crucial]. If you let Jasprit Bumrah, if you let Mohammed Siraj just bowl without any pressure being applied, their margin for error becomes huge. So then they're going to just keep getting it right over and over because there's never any pressure put back on them. I'd like to see him be a little bit more aggressive, just with his footwork, his mindset."

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