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Metropolis Desk-
Veteran opener David Warner will leave Australia’s tour of India after suffering a concussion and a fractured elbow in the second Test. The left-hander will fly back to Sydney on Wednesday and miss Australia’s final two Tests against India in Indore and Ahmedabad.
Australia are unlikely to call in a replacement player for Warner with allrounder Cameron Green set to return from a finger injury to bat at No 6 in the third Test, reports The Guardian.
The tourists are 2-0 down in the four-Test series and their hopes of regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy are already overafter India won the second Test in Delhi by six wickets.
After scoring a difficult 15 on Friday, Warner was subbed out of the match in Delhi before play on day two after failing a concussion test. Team officials say the injury would not have prevented Warner from batting in the second innings in Delhi, but he was ruled out of the match with concussion.
He was replaced in the XI by Matt Renshaw, but No 5 Travis Head opened in Australia’s second innings and top scored with 43.
Warner’s position in the Test team was already under a cloud after he was down on form for the majority of the last three years.
The left-hander entered the Boxing Day Test in December – his 100th match – under extreme pressure to retain his spot. But he scored a classic 200 to end a Test century drought dating back to January 2020 and book his spot for a third red-ball tour of India.
“If Dave’s unavailable it would make perfect sense,” coach Andrew McDonald said of opening with Head. “We did discuss before coming over here that if we were to lose an opening batter that Trav would be one we’d look to put up there. We feel in the subcontinental conditions that he can get off to the fast starts which he showed.”
Warner is not Australia’s only injury concern, with new spin sensation Todd Murphy picking up a “slight niggle” in his side. But Murphy bowled with the injury during the second Test and should be right to play in Indore.
The experienced quick Josh Hazlewood has already left the 18-man squad and flown back to Sydney after battling to overcome a persistent achilles injury.
The 32-year-old has played just three of Australia’s last 16 Tests due to niggling injury issues over the past two years.
The captain, Pat Cummins, flew home after Australia’s six-wicket loss in Delhi on Sunday because of a serious family illness, but is expected to return for the third Test in Indore, starting on 1 March.
