Australia’s injury woes deepened ahead of the ODI series against India starting Sunday, with all-rounder Cameron Green ruled out on Friday due to low-grade side soreness. The setback has also raised concerns about his fitness for the upcoming five-match Ashes series against England.
The 26-year-old, who also missed the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year, will be replaced by Marnus Labuschagne, who is set to join the squad in Perth ahead of the first ODI.
Green, who only recently returned to bowling after back surgery last year, had been gradually building up his workload in the Sheffield Shield for Western Australia. However, he pulled up sore following a training session this week and will now undergo a short rehabilitation program.
Although the seam-bowling all-rounder was not expected to bowl in the first two ODIs against India, he was working toward increasing his bowling load with the aim of delivering more overs in Western Australia’s third Sheffield Shield match starting October 28. He was also slated to skip the third ODI in Sydney and the subsequent T20I series to focus on Shield matches as part of his Ashes preparation.
Teammate Travis Head downplayed the severity of Green’s injury, describing it as a precautionary measure.
“I’m sure he’s going alright; he’s in good hands. We’ll work through it, like anything else with guys who have some niggles. We’ve got Josh [Inglis] in a similar position as well,” Head said.
“I don’t think it will have any impact on the Ashes. It’s just disappointing that he’s not here for the next three games — probably more precautionary leading into the next five weeks,” he added.
Green’s absence further adds to Australia’s growing list of unavailable players, with Pat Cummins, Josh Inglis, Adam Zampa and Alex Carey all missing parts of the India series for fitness or personal reasons.
World Cup-winning captain Cummins, already ruled out of the India series, admitted earlier this week that he was “less likely than likely” to feature in the first Ashes Test starting November 21 in Perth. Australia’s other Test all-rounder, Beau Webster, is also nursing an injury concern.
Wicketkeeper Inglis will miss at least the first two ODIs as he recovers from a calf strain, while Carey — part of Australia’s first-choice ODI XI and Inglis’s backup — will skip the first ODI in Perth to play a Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Queensland in Adelaide as part of his Ashes build-up.
Meanwhile, Zampa will also miss the Perth ODI to stay home with his pregnant wife.
Labuschagne’s recall follows a strong run of domestic form, highlighted by a recent score of 159, his fourth century in five innings.