After Nagpur loss, Australia call-up left-arm spinner with just 35 First-Class wickets

Australia have called up left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann ahead of the second Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 to be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Kuhnemann has been called as leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is flying back home for the birth of his first child.
 

Swepson was on the bench for the first Test as 22-year-old off-spinner Todd Murphy got his debut cap. Murphy ended up justifying the selection and took seven wickets and stood out of the lot as India piled 400 runs on a rank turner.
 

Kuhnemann's numbers

Swepson's replacement Kuhnemann has 35 wickets from 13 First-Class appearances. He has a bowling average of 34.80. The 26-year-old has already represented Australia in the ODI format. From four ODIs, he has six wickets at an average of 31.83.
 

The Queensland spinner made his last appearance in red-ball against Victoria. He bowled 44 overs and picked up three wickets in the Sheffield Shield encounter.
 

Kuhnemann may get his baggy green straightaway as Australia might look to play three spinners in the second Test starting February 17. However, it will be interesting to see if he gets a nod ahead of left-arm spinner and all-rounder Ashton Agar.
 

Too many injuries in squad

The current Australian squad has plenty of injury concerns. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were not a part of the XI. While Starc has landed in Delhi it is yet to be seen whether he is fit to play in the second encounter. If Starc doesn’t recover, all-rounder Cameron Green may get the green light. However, Green is also recovering from finger injury. 
 

Another Australian got injured during the first Test. Picked in the playing XI over in-form Travis Head, Matthew Renshaw failed to make a mark at Nagpur as he got out for a duck in the first innings followed by a single-digit score in Australia’s 91 on Day 3. Head is likely to walk into the playing XI for Delhi Test.
 

Warner's form a concern

There have also been calls to drop David Warner who has had a mediocre Test record on Indian soil. Warner registered scores of 1 and 10 in the Nagpur Test.