Australia opener David Warner is reportedly facing the axe from the playing eleven following his poor performance in the first Test against India at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Despite being one of the most experienced batters in the lineup, David Warner just could not deliver with the bat.
The southpaw flopped in both the innings as India thrashed the visitors by an innings and 132 runs to take the lead in the four-match series. He was castled by Mohammed Shami for 1 run in the first innings before being sent back by Ravichandran Ashwin for 10 runs.
The recent failures have only extended the southpaw’s terrible record in Tests in India. Prior to the start of the ongoing series, he had managed to score only 388 runs in 9 Tests at an average of just over 24 and highest score of 71. The average has now dropped to almost 22.
David Warner faces axe:
Following David Warner’s twin failures in Nagpur, reports have emerged that Australian selectors might drop him from the playing eleven to make room for Travis Head who was sensationally dropped from the team for the first Test.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, sources close to the Australian team have confirmed that the possibility of dropping David Warner and replacing him with in-form Head has been discussed.
Australia great and Warner’s former teammate Mitchell Johnson has already said that he would like to see the left-hander making way for Head. Writing in his column for The West Australian, Johnson wrote: “I would drop David Warner and bring in Travis Head for second Test against India.”
Head was a shocking omission from the first Test. Before coming to India, he had smashed 525 runs at 87.50 against the West Indies and South Africa at home. The stunning run exploits made him the first Australian to finish a home Test summer with 500+ runs and a strike rate of more than 95.
Meanwhile, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has said that his team is unlikely to make too many changes to the playing eleven. Speaking to the reporters on Sunday, McDonald said:
“It’s a four-Test match series. If you feel as though your preparation was good and the way you want to go about it is good, then you recommit to that.”
“If you shift and try to change too much that’s when you get lost as a touring team. We’ve seen teams come to Australia and try to do the same. We need to be committed to what we want to achieve,” he added.
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