Australia will be without their dynamic batsman David Warner for the first Test against India in Adelaide starting December 17 after it was confirmed that the star batsman will need ‘another 10 days’ to recover from the groin strain he sustained during the ODI series. Warner informed that although he has made a lot of progress, he does not want to risk it by featuring in the Day/Night Test and instead focus on the Boxing Day Test at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“I feel I have made great progress in a short amount of time and it’s best for me to stay here in Sydney to continue working on getting back to full fitness,” Warner said.
“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. 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.”
Warner will continue to remain in Sydney while the rest of the squad travels to Adelaide today. Australia coach Justin Langer remains positive ahead of Warner’s return for the second Test that begins on December 26.
“If there is one guy you know will go well above and beyond that’s Dave. He has done an incredible job to get to where he is today and we hope to have a fully fit David Warner at his absolute best in Melbourne,” Langer said.
Although it was expected of Warner to miss the first Test, the news comes as a bit of a blow for Australia after Will Pucovski, backed by Langer to play the first Test, was hit on the head during the tour game against India A and displayed mild concussion symptoms. He was ruled out of the warm-up and now remains in doubt for the opening game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.