With question marks over a number of players as India battle a injury crisis ahead of a series decider, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour said the XI will not be known unless a final assessment is done on the morning of the fourth Test that starts in Brisbane on Friday.
Despite earlier reports suggesting Bumrah was ruled out of the match, Rathour said he was to be assessed as well and it will be a last-minute decision whether to play him or not.
“We will take a call tomorrow.The medical team is working with all the injured players. If Bumrah is fit, he plays, if he is not fit, he doesn’t play,” Rathour said at the pre-match conference.
While Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja will not be playing (despite no official confirmation for the former yet), India will have to make at least two changes to the XI that battled to a draw in Sydney. Among others, there are question marks about Ashwin Ravichandran (back issues) and Rishabh Pant (bruised elbow) as well. In the reserves, Mayank Agarwal has also reportedly suffered an injury during practice.
Australia need a win to regain Border-Gavaskar Trophy but a draw will be enough for India to retain it for another couple of years.
Meanwhile, Australian opening batsman Will Pucovski failed a fitness test Thursday and was ruled out of the series-deciding fourth Test against India, with Marcus Harris taking his place, reported AFP.
The 22-year-old, who made his debut in the drawn third Test at Sydney, cracking an impressive 62 in the first innings, dislocated his shoulder while fielding in the match.
