Australia will have a major selection headache ahead of the third Test match in Indore of the ongoing Broder-Gavaskar Trophy as they try to book a place in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). Already without the services of Josh Hazlewood due to Achilles injury, the visitors from Down Under now face the prospect of losing David Warner while a string of names including skipper Pat Cummins have already boarded flights back home.
David Warner doubt for Indore Test
Warner’s participation in the remainder of this tour is under a major cloud as he nurses two injuries suffered within minutes of each other in the second Test. Mohammad Siraj landed blows to his elbow (leaving with him with a small hairline fracture) and a concussion (which saw him replaced mid-Test by Matthew Renshaw). The team says both injuries require around a week to recover from.
"He's still sore at the moment," said McDonald.
"We're in no rush to make any decisions at this point in time around Davey … There's a bit of unknown there,” added the coach.
Even if Warner regains fitness, there is also now a question over whether Travis Head is a better option at the top of the order on the subcontinent.
Despite Australia's glaring batting issues in this series, there will be a squeeze on if both Warner and Green are fit for the third Test, especially given the last man in, Peter Handscomb, has made him himself indispensable as the team's second leading run scorer for the series.
And Head, overlooked in Nagpur but then promoted to take on the new ball in Warner's stead in Australia's second innings in Delhi, blazed more runs in that single hit (43) than the long-time opener has in three knocks this series (26).
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Big names already in Australia
Skipper Pat Cummins has rushed home to Sydney to deal with a significant family medical concern. It is hoped he will return for the Test in Indore beginning March 1. Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has also flown back due to an Achilles complaint and will not return, while Swepson is coming back the other way having returned to Brisbane last week for the birth of his first child.
The sense of Lance Morris and Ashton Agar remaining in India when there are Sheffield Shield games being played back in Australia is now being considered, in particular for Agar after he was leapfrogged by fellow left-arm spinner Kuhnemann when Swepson was unavailable.
