The hype around the all-important Border-Gavaskar Test series between India and Australia is palpable. The four-match Test series will be played from February 9 to March 13. Meanwhile, Australian coach Andrew McDonald has given a big update on Cameron Green's chances of playing the opening Test in Nagpur as the star all-rounder injured his index finger during Australia's Test series against South Africa.
McDonald said that Green is making a quick recovery and has an outside chance to feature in Australia's Playing XI for the series opener. The 23-year-old was seen bowling at the nets in Alur.
"We haven't put a clear line through him on the team sheet. So, I wouldn't say he was in discomfort when he was bowling," McDonald said.
However McDonald did admit that there are still some concerns around Green's batting.
"I would say one of the deliveries jarred the bottom of the bat and that can create discomfort for anyone, but there is a little bit of awareness around that finger. He has made some significant steps forward in the last couple of days, probably to my surprise.
"So, there is still an outside chance, everything going well, he might be on the team sheet," McDonald kept the options open.
But the good news is Green has made some significant progress in terms of bowling, however, Australian skipper Pat Cummins earlier ruled out his chances of bowling in the Test should he play.
The Border-Gavaskar series will be equally important for Australia's explosive batter David Warner as he is fully recharged. Warner, who recently struck a double century in his 100th Test, will also look to make amends for his poor runs in some of the previous tours in the four-match Test series.
The star southpaw averages around 24.25 in eight Tests in India.
"I haven't noticed any fatigue in David Warner since I got here. I would probably dispel that as a bit of a myth. He has had a couple of days off... he has been there (at training) for one of the two days, and he is not there today," McDonald said.
"We are managing each individual coming in around their specific preparation and where they have been and there is no doubt it was a demanding summer into BBL, and it creates a challenge back into Test match cricket. But we feel the preparation we have him on he will be recharged and ready to go. It has been well documented he hasn't had the series that he would like. It's always challenging. I think the way he is applying himself in his downtime to really land on a method to take on the Indian spinners and also the quicks and to have a successful tour, I think you will see him fully invigorated and invested and fully charged for the challenge ahead," he further added.
Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 schedule:
1st Test at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur - February 9-13
2nd Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi - February 17-21
3rd Test at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala - March 1-5
4th Test at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - March 9-13
India’s squad for the first two Tests vs Australia: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia Test squad for India tour: Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
