The build-up to this year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy has seen both camps riddled with a litany of injuries. Cameron Ponsonby put together an XI of the men down on their luck.
David Warner – groin
This one had to hurt. Both for Warner and the Aussies. For Warner, it was a groin tear, ruling him out of the first Test. For Australia, it was losing an opener who averages 65 at home and strikes them at 4.5 an over. With Joe Burns enduring his own nightmare run, the loss of the veteran leftie is significant.
Will Pucovski – concussion
A first-class average of 55 and a 2020 Sheffield Shield average of 248 meant Pucovski entered this series with plenty of hype around him and a Baggy Green around the corner. But a blow to the helmet while batting for Australia A against the Indians meant he suffered yet another concussion, ruling him out of the first Test. The wait for the coming of this precocious talent goes on.
Rohit Sharma – hamstring
Sharma has been declared “clinically fit” by the BCCI after more than three weeks of rehab work to treat a hamstring injury he suffered in the IPL. However, he has also been told he must “work on his endurance” while in quarantine as he bids to make a late entry into the series.
Steve Smith – back
Smith was conspicuous in his absence from Australia’s training session on Tuesday, reportedly hurting his back after fielding a ball. He should be fine to bat on Wednesday say CA, but with Warner already missing the first Test, this all feels very 2018.
Moises Henriques – hamstring
With Australia down on their luck on the fitness front, Henriques was called into the Test squad on Monday, not long after he’d had his own injury worries; a hamstring strain had ruled him out of Australia A’s games against India.
Cameron Green – concussion
Green suffered a terrifying blow to the head while bowling for Australia A, bearing the brunt of a Jasprit Bumrah straight drive while in his follow-through. Already anointed as “the best since Ponting” by Greg Chappell, Justin Langer has said a Baggy Green awaits should Green be passed fit for the first Test.
Hardik Pandya – back
Pandya was in fine fettle with the bat in the T20Is and ODIs against Australia, but there has been no late promotion into the Test squad. Having undergone back surgery last year, Pandya has been playing as a specialist batsman, and Captain Kohli has said that if the all-rounder is to return to the Test set-up, in which he hasn’t featured since 2018, then he must be able to offer with the ball as well as the bat.
Ravi Jadeja – concussion & hamstring
The Rockstar sustained a concussion in the first T20I against Australia and was replaced in the match by Yuzvendra Chahal before missing the rest of the series. His hamstring troubled him in that same match, but he has since joined back up with the Indian Test group.
Sean Abbott – calf
Was he ever likely to play ahead of Starc, Hazelwood or Cummins? No, not really. Yet Abbott will surely be gutted by a calf strain picked up while playing for Australia A, ruling him out of the first Test.
Ishant Sharma – side
This is a costly injury. Ishant has averaged less than 20 with the ball in Tests since the start of 2018 and while the BCCI said in November that he had recovered from a side strain, they ruled him on the grounds that he had to regain Test-match fitness.
Harry Conway – concussion
Last and also least, Harry Conway. While not a member of Australia’s Test squad, Conway featured for Australia A in their pink-ball fixture at the SCG but was subbed out of the match with concussion after facing a short-ball barrage.
