The Australian team on Friday added right-handed batsman Peter Handscomb to their squad as a replacement for Aaron Finch for the five-match One-Day series against Australia. Handscomb was part of the test team that toured Bangladesh earlier this month. He will be available for selection for the opener of the series scheduled to play on September 17.
Already nursing a calf injury, Finch further exacerbated the injury while the team was having a practice session on Thursday. He will miss the first few matches of the tour. Earlier, Finch had suffered an injury while playing County cricket for Surrey in England. The Australian team management feared that he will possibly be ruled out of the series, but the initial scan reports haven’t revealed any serious damage that could see him out of the tour. He will remain with the touring Australian team.
The team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris while talking to the media said, “Aaron re-aggravated his pre-existing calf injury during warm-up at training yesterday.”
“He has had a scan in Chennai and although we believe it is not a serious recurrence, he will not be available for the first few one-day matches here in India. He will remain with the squad whilst we assess the injury and establish his return to play timelines,” the physio further added.
The 30-year-old cricketer from Victoria didn’t feature in the team that played practice match of the tour against the Board President XI on September 12. Debutant all-rounder Hilton Cartwright was given a chance in the absence of the regular opener, but he got out on a second ball duck. Australia also has the third opener in the form of Travis Head. It will be an exciting call on the part of the team management whom they chose to open with David Warner when the Aussies take on Indian in the series opener.
