Young Australian opener Will Pucovski has been ruled out of the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India scheduled to commence from January 15 (Friday) at the Gabba. The youngster’s love-hate relationship with injuries continue as he missed the first two matches of the series owing to a concussion injury.
Pucovski suffered the injury during the Sydney Test while diving to save a ball in the field. He was left with a heavy strap on his shoulder during the last day’s play. Will Pucovski failed a fitness test on Thursday (January 14) in Brisbane, ahead of the final Test of the series, and was ruled out of the final match of the series.
Marcus Harris to replace injured Will Pucovski
Australia skipper Tim Paine confirmed that Will Pucovski will not take part in the match and confirmed Marcus Harris as his replacement. He will partner David Warner at the top-order which will be Australia’s third opening pair in four Tests.
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“Harry’s just a no-fuss very good player,” captain Paine said. “He’s been working his backside off for a while now, he’s had huge numbers in Sheffield Shield cricket and deserves his opportunity,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marcus Harris has not played Test cricket since Ashes 2019 where he was called in midway through the series, replacing Cameron Bancroft, and scored 58 runs in six innings. So far, he has played nine Test matches for Australia scoring 385 runs, including two fifties, with the highest score of 79.
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Incidentally, Marcus Harris was a part of the squad for the first two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after David Warner (groin) and Will Pucovski (concussion) were ruled out. However, the selectors didn’t pick him in the playing XI and instead went for Joe Burns and makeshift opener Matthew Wade. Burns was completely out of form with the bat while Wade failed to convert the starts in his new role.
