The third test is scheduled to be played in Sydney from January 7-11.
In the absence of Warner, who was recovering from a torn groin muscle, Australia’s batting failed miserably in the first two games.
“That is a clear and real option. He may not be 100 percent fit. Who is coming out of an injury? You never know until he comes out,” McDonald said during a virtual press conference.
“Look, if he’s 90-95% and the conversation is that he’s fit enough to be able to go out and perform his duties for the team, then I’m sure it will be a conversation that the coach has with the player.
“Most of the time, Justin (Langer) is quite open with the players in terms of holding them accountable for that.”
Warner has been named to the squad alongside young Victorian Will Pucovski for Test 3, as Australia looks to bounce back from the eight wickets loss at the Boxing Day test here.
McDonald said Warner is optimistic about his return to Sydney.
“He’s (Warner) very optimistic that he should be ready, which is great news for us. We are very excited to have him back.
“I’m sure he’s excited to get back in the group as well. There’s nothing worse than being injured when you’re at the top of your game like David has been for a period of time.”
Pucovski is also poised for a possible debut after the youngster suffered a concussion in the first preparatory game against the Indians earlier this month.
“They’ll test him as much as it takes to be available for the pick and potentially open up hitting. So it’s nice to have a little depth out there.”
One of the biggest setbacks for the Australians so far has been a rare drop in the form of hitting mainstay Steve Smith, who has so far scored just 10 runs in four innings of the series.
“I wouldn’t be too quick to judge that Steve Smith doesn’t look good in the middle. He looks pretty solid and hits the ball well into the nets,” McDonald said.
When asked if life in a biobubble was affecting Smith, he said: “No, none at all. Obviously we work closely in the UAE with the Rajasthan Royals and there is nothing to suggest there is a link there.
“I’m sure you would ideally prefer to be with your family during the Christmas season and Justin addressed that. Unfortunately some players and staff members will be disconnected from the family during the Christmas season, certainly not ideal.
“Yeah, it’s a challenge to recover. The best players in the world tend to recover. He (Smith) is in a very good space to be honest, let’s go. Sydney test. ”
The assistant coach had a similar opinion for Marnus Labuschagne, who missed the fifty in Adelaide and Melbourne.
“Technically, they’re ready to go. It’s about how they score their runs and how they’re going to combat these attacks from the Indian bowlers. Yes, they want to make sure they’re technically in a good space, but it’s more about the method now. “.
The Australian batsmen were strangled by the side of the legs with a brilliant bowling strategy by the Indians.
“Probably the question for me at the moment is how technically or technically India has prepared and can probably control particularly with that kind of side-leg theory, so to speak,” he said.
In the second test, the captain of India, Ajinkya Rahane, introduced his star off course, Ravichandran Ashwin, already in the eleventh, and he delivered by firing Matthew Wade and Smith in his first spell to help his team defeat to Australia for 195 in his first innings.
McDonald said they were surprised to see the bounce and turn on the MCG window.
“I think one of the things that really surprised everyone was the surface at MCG on Boxing Day. It was not what we normally assume to be a flat force.
“We weren’t expecting the top to play a major role at MCG on the first day in particular. It spun and bounced off the main part of the surface. So to me, the wicket probably surprised us a bit.
“We probably weren’t able to adapt fast enough during that time frame to combat the Indian bowlers,” McDonald concluded.
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