Australian head coach Justin Langer has stated that southpaw Marcus Harris could potentially replace Will Pucovski for the 4th and the final Test against India in Brisbane if the latter fails to recover in time. Pucovski has dislocated his shoulder only partially and an Australian spokesperson yesterday revealed that they will take a call on the opener before the match day.
Pucovski who made his Test debut in Sydney sustained the injury during the 3rd Test while diving on the field. With the 4th Test slated to start on 15th January, it looks unlikely that Pucovski will be fit for the final Test but he is a young guy and the final call will be taken later.
"Will had a sore shoulder before he fell, he was actually going to have a scan after that day's play anyway, just to see what was happening," Langer was quoted as saying during a virtual press conference.
"We will see how he pulls up today, we are really hopeful that he will get up and if he doesn't, then the obvious thing would be Marcus Harris would come in as an opener," he added.
Despite Pucovski being a doubtful starter for the final Test, Langer, one of the prolific Test openers of his time, is still optimistic about Pucovski’s availability for the final Test.
"Will is a young guy, he has just played his first Test. So mentally he's going to be exhausted anyway. We will keep an eye on how he pulls up today. With shoulders, as long as he can bat OK and catch, it's not as big a deal in Test cricket, we're really hopeful he will get up, we will probably know by tonight," Langer added.
An impressive young batsman, Pucovski has a history of suffering concussions and he has already been concussed 9 times in his career so far. He has some clear problems while facing the short ball and after getting hit several times it has become more of a mental setback for the youngster. However, he looked in good shape during the 3rd Test against India and went onto score his maiden Test half-century. He was dropped twice and was troubled by the short deliveries but he still managed to fight through that situation and scored a pleasant half-century.
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