David Warner Battling Injury Ahead Of Afghanistan Game

Australia star David Warner is in a race against time to be fit for his side’s World Cup-opener against Afghanistan on Saturday (June 1).  The left-handed batsman is currently nursing a leg-soreness which made him miss Australia’s final World Cup warm-up match against Sri Lanka on Monday. Australia, nonetheless, had won that game with utmost ease.

Warner batted at training on Wednesday morning in Bristol in a big relief for his side. However, it soon turned into despair when he did not take part in any fielding drills. One of the reasons behind Warner not taking part in the fielding drills is the cold and wet conditions at the ground with temperature less than 10 degree celsius. But according to reports in Cricket.com.au, the southpaw’s injury is not that serious.

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Australia, meanwhile, will have two more training sessions – on Thursday night and on Friday afternoon – before they take a final call on Warner and his batting position. There is still no clarity over whether Warner would open the innings alongside Aaron Finch or would bat at number three. The confusion would have only escalated after Usman Khawaja hit a match-winning 89 against Sri Lanka.

In recent months, Khawaja and Finch have formed a formidable partnership at the top of the order. The two starred with the bat during the victorious series against India and Pakistan. But earlier this week, Khawaja said he is not thinking too much on where would he bat against Afghanistan.

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“I’m in a place in my life and my career where I’m really enjoying my cricket,” he said. “It’s a World Cup, I’m going to do my best whatever I have to do, whether I’m playing, whether I’m not playing, I want to do my best.

“There are some things I can’t control, I’ve been in and out of the teams as much as anyone. It’s a privilege to play for Australia so I’m just glad to be here,” he added.

David Warner, nonetheless, was the top run-scorer in this year’s IPL but has not quite managed to leave a mark in the Australian jersey so far. The left-handed batsman’s highest score is only 43 in five 50-over games for Australia since the end of IPL. So it would not be very surprising if Australia demote him at number three in this World Cup.

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