Australia vs India: David Warner Ruled Out Of Boxing Day Test

Australia will be without their star opener David Warner for the upcoming second Test too against India. Along with the southpaw, allrounder Sean Abbott has been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test too. The pair will, however, rejoin the squad ahead of the third Test.

David Warner has been on the sidelines since suffering the groin injury during the second ODI against India last month. Consequently, he missed the third ODI, three T20Is as well as the first Test in Adelaide. Abbott, on the other hand, has returned to full fitness following a calf strain but has been ruled out of the game due to Cricket Australia’s strict biosecurity protocols.

Both David Warner and Abbott both left Sydney last Saturday to fly to Melbourne ahead of the Australia squad as the COVID19 outbreak developed in Sydney, where the pair were at home recuperating from their injuries outside the team’s bio-secure hub. But while neither were in a designated COVID ‘hotspot’ identified by NSW Health, CA’s protocols do not allow them to rejoin the squad in time for the Test. As a result, the pair will return to the Australia squad ahead of the third Test.

“Warner and Abbott spent time in Sydney outside the team’s bio-secure hub to recover from injury. While neither player has been in a specific ‘hotspot’ as outlined by NSW Health, Cricket Australia’s bio-security protocols do not allow them to rejoin the squad in time for the Boxing Day Test,” a Cricket Australia release stated. “The pair travelled from Sydney to Melbourne to continue their rehabilitation given the changing public health situation in Sydney at the time.”

David Warner’s absence means Australia are more than unlikely to take an unchanged XI into the second Test with Joe Burns and Matthew Wade continuing their makeshift opening combination. Wade and Burns will have confidence on their side after sharing a 70-run stand in the second innings of the Adelaide Test with the latter going on to score an unbeaten fifty in the 8-wicket win.

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