Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Australia can deal with India in absence of Cummins, Warner, says Handscomb

Cummins returned home to be with his ailing mother in Sydney after Australia crashed to their second successive defeat in the four-test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India will retain having taken a 2-0 lead.

Published : Feb 26, 2023 15:34 IST

Peter Handscomb of Australi during the practice session ahead of the third Test starting from 1st March.
Peter Handscomb of Australi during the practice session ahead of the third Test starting from 1st March. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
infoIcon

Peter Handscomb of Australi during the practice session ahead of the third Test starting from 1st March. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Australia’s Peter Handscomb believes the absence of captain Pat Cummins and batter David Warner will make life tougher when they face India in the third test starting in Indore on Wednesday but the return of Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc is “exciting”.

Cummins returned home to be with his ailing mother in Sydney after Australia crashed to their second successive defeat in the four-test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India will retain having taken a 2-0 lead.

Warner also flew back after suffering a fracture to his elbow and a concussion in the second test in New Delhi, but all-rounder Green is fit again after shaking off a finger injury. Starc, who also suffered a finger injury, is set to return to action as well.

“They’re two world-class players and Pat’s our captain as well, so it’s definitely going to make it tougher... It’s going to be a big loss not having those two,” batter Handscomb said.

“But we’ve got all the information we need... We’ve got the training and the facilities that we need to be ready to go for Indore and Ahmedabad.

“Starc is coming back from injury and Green is coming back from injury. We’ve got a couple of big ins potentially, so there’s that exciting part as well.”

Steve Smith will lead the side in the absence of Cummins. He previously captained Australia between 2015 and 2018.

“He hasn’t changed too much. It shows he’s a world-class player and he thinks about the game a lot, so he’s a good one to have under Pat. He’s experienced in this situation as well,” Handscomb said

“It’s not something new to him so he can just go about his business the way he normally does. He’ll be focusing on his batting first and the captaincy second.”

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment