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Australia will be without their skipper Pat Cummins and opener David Warner for the third Test in Indore which kicks off on March 1, but their star batter Peter Handscomb believes that their side can cope in the absence of their star players, who himself made his return to the Test team during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Cummins is set to miss the next Test after his mother was admitted into 'palliative care', he announced on Friday, February 24. He had initially flown back to Australia and was slated to return for the third Test in Indore, but the pacer has now decided to stay back to care for his ailing mother. In his absence, Steve Smith will be the skipper of the side.
Meanwhile, Warner has been ruled out of the second Test against India with a concussion. On the opening day of the second Test between India and Australia in Delhi on February 17 (Friday). Warner was hit on the helmet and the elbow off a bouncer from Mohammed Siraj during his sluggish 15-run knock. The star southpaw will be assessed by the team medical staff.
Speaking ahead of the third Test match, Handscomb is of the opinion that it would be tougher to play against India in Indore, especially without their top players, but they are prepared to tackle the situation.
"They're two world-class players and Pat's our captain as well, so it's definitely going to make it tougher... It's going to be a big loss not having those two. But we've got all the information we need... We've got the training and the facilities that we need to be ready to go for Indore and Ahmedabad," Handscomb said.
The Australians will be bolstered with the returns of Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green for the third Test, which Handscomb believes are welcome additions. "Starc is coming back from injury and Green is coming back from injury. We've got a couple of big ins potentially, so there's that exciting part as well," the right-hander said.
In Cummins absence, Steve Smith will lead the side in the absence of Cummins. Sharing his thoughts on Smith's comeback for the match, Handscomb said, "He hasn't changed too much. It shows he's a world-class player and he thinks about the game a lot, so he's a good one to have under Pat. He's obviously experienced in this situation as well. It's not something new to him so he can just go about his business the way he normally does. He'll be focusing on his batting first and the captaincy second."
