Australia will reconsider its plans for Test series preparation with the possibility of more team members playing in the pink ball warm-up game against the Indians at SCG following injuries and absences.
The initial plan had been for most of the test team to join in Adelaide shortly after the conclusion of the T20 series, but now there are more of them who will stay in Sydney.
David Warner is unlikely to be fit for the opening test after sustaining a groin injury in the one-day series, while Mitchell Starc received compassionate leave due to a family illness. Josh Hazlewood was left out of the second S20I with back pain.
“With injuries, we weren’t expecting Davey, for example, to get injured like he did, so we’re looking at it closely,” said head coach Justin Langer. “The best practice, I have said for years, is the central wicket and the opportunity to play a pink ball game against India under the lights is certainly a very tempting preparation for some of our players. We are looking at that.
“I actually addressed the CA board the other day, one of the challenges that we have with such tight schedules … we have six injuries now, which is really unusual. We will obviously go over it. That’s one of the challenges in The future when the boys are playing on all the tours [and have] different types of preparations “.
That could mean an extra hit for Joe Burns and Will Pucovski, who are expected to be part of the starting pairing in Adelaide, but fell cheaply in the early innings at Drummoyne Oval on Monday, while supporting players like Sean Abbott , Michael Neser and James Pattinson could go for a run.
Travis Head and Tim Paine are part of Australia’s A-team for the opener against the Indians.
The last few days have tested the depth of Australia’s white ball with the T20I team eliminated on Sunday without at least six first-choice players. Reinforcements have been brought in with D’Arcy Short, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Swepson added to the team over the last week, but they had already been inside the team bubble in Sydney.
Pat Cummins has been resting since the second ODI with his sights set on the test series with Langer quick to defend that decision, adding that he never thought of calling him early due to biosecurity measures on the team.
“Some of the simplicity of our past lives is not quite there,” he said. “There has to be isolation and we can’t do that. We are always looking at the big picture here, we know we have a great series of tests on the way, there has been a lot of talk that Pat will not play, but we” have known that we have had to manage. this at all times.
“If he hadn’t spent a few days at home in this little period, he might not have gone home until June of next year, so to any of the critics, imagine not coming home during that period of time. Bring him in and come back two that we don’t consider because we have to handle it to make sure we’re ready for the test series. “
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