Green made some significant steps forward in the last couple of days: McDonald

Australia were dealt with a blow when Cameron Green suffered an injury in the SCG Test against Australia, which right now has made him “touch and go” for the Nagpur Test, starting February 9. While he has shown significant improvement in terms of batting fitness, his bowling, which is core to Australia’s idea of balance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, remains a concern through and through.

With Australia practicing at the KSCA Facility in Alur, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, Green has bowled lethally for a period, which impressed Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald but the latter has admitted that Green is still not a confirmed name on the team sheet, with some visible signs of discomfort.

"We've got a fair bit to work through him before the first Test match. We haven't put a clear line through him or put him on the team-sheet yet," McDonald told reporters in Bangalore on Saturday.

"I wouldn't say he was in discomfort when he was bowling. One of the deliveries jarred the bottom of the bat and that can create discomfort for anyone. There's a bit of awareness around that finger. He's made some significant steps forward in the last couple of days, probably to my surprise.

"There's still an outside chance that, everything going well, he might be on the team sheet."

The absence of Green would be a big factor for the Aussies, who prosper the hope of kneeling India down for the first time in nine years. Peter Handscomb or Matt Renshaw, who both were part of Australia’s squad in their previous BGT tour in 2017, would be making it to the playing XI unless the track compels the management to pick five bowlers. 

With Ravichandran Ashwin being a huge threat against left-handed batters, Australia might consider Handscomb in the Playing XI with David Warner, Usman Khawaja, and Alex Carey all being left-handers.