Australia have been dealt another major blow before they have even landed on Indian soil as another star name is set to miss the flight. The Aussies who are expected to be in India in the coming hours will now have to wait further to bolster their squad as Usman Khawaja missed out. Initially, the Aussies are without Mitchell Starc for the first Test in Nagpur while Cameron Green is also set to miss out with a finger injury.
Why did Khawaja miss out?
The Australian team who will land in Bangalore in instalments will travel to Nagpur next week before the first Test. However, the traveling contingent will be without Khawaja who is dealing with visa issues and is not part of the team at the moment. It is more likely that the visa issues will be sorted in the coming hours and the left-handed batter who was recently named the Shane Warne ‘Test Player of the Year’ for Australia in 2022 could feature. It is understood Khawaja was the only player in the 17-man squad to be denied a visa after lodging the paperwork early last month.
Aussies already without Starc and Green
Pat Cummins’ side is without Starc who injured his finger during the Boxing Day Test and was ruled out of the Nagpur Test on Tuesday. Starc won’t be the only person on the treatment table for the Aussies as he along with Cameron Green are art of the treatment table. The Mumbai Indians batter also injured in the his finger in the Boxing Day Test and consequently missed the third Test in Sydney.
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WTC race going down the wire
Australia will play a four-match Test series against India which kick starts on 9 February at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. The series will have bearings on the World Test Championship (WTC) where both India and Australia are in pole positions to make the final in June while South Africa and Sri Lanka are also in contention with an outside chance if India fail to make the most of the opportunity.
