Australia opener David Warner has been ruled out of the first Test against India in Adelaide. The 34-year-old injured his adductor muscle while fielding against India during the second ODI last month and will miss the pink ball Test, which begins in Adelaide on December 17.
Warner said he is happy with the recovery but wants to be 100 per cent fit before returning to the field. The southpaw is expected to join the Aussie camp before the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
“The injury feels a lot better, but I need to be able to satisfy in my own mind and to my team-mates that it is 100 per cent ready for Test match conditions,” Warner said in his statement to Cricket Australia.
“That includes running between the wickets and being agile in the field. Right now, I feel I am short of being able to play at peak fitness and another 10 days will make a difference.”
Although it was expected of Warner to miss the first Test, the news came in as a bit of a blow for the hosts as Will Pucovski, backed by coach Justin Langer to play the series opener, was struck on the head by a Kartik Tyagi bouncer during the recently-concluded tour game against India A. Pucovski was ruled out of the remaining warm-up on Day 3 and now in doubtful for the opening game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Here is Australia squad for 1st Test: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.
