"They’ve painted themselves into a corner" - Stuart Clark feels selectors are hamstrung by injuries and form ahead of second Test against India

Former Australian pacer Stuart Clark reckons that the selectors face some tough decisions ahead of the second Test against India. Clark believes the selectors have backed them into a corner and are in a fix about whom to drop.

Changes seem inevitable for Australia ahead of the second Test in Delhi after India crushed them by an innings and 132 runs within three days in Nagpur. The selectors have added left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann to the squad, but have injury concerns in the form of Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc.

Speaking to Sky Sports Radio's "Big Sports Breakfast," Stuart Clark emphasized the tough spot the selectors find themselves in. He believes that will be the case unless Green or Starc recover sufficiently from their finger injuries to play in Delhi. Clark said:

"I think they’ve painted themselves into a corner where it’s very difficult to change the team.

"It’s such a corner that they’re almost stuck and unless they get some injury relief — i.e., Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green come back — I don’t see how they can make any changes without looking like, A; there’s a massive over-reaction to what happened in the first game, or two; accepting they got it wrong, and I don’t think they want to do either of those."

The 47-year-old also believes the management can't drop Todd Murphy or Nathan Lyon despite Kuhnemann's quality, stating:

"I’ve watched a little bit of Kuhnemann bowl in domestic cricket. He’s a pretty good bowler, and he would be hard work and he offers a bit of variety.

"But that means you’ve got to either play three spinners — I’m not sure they’re going to do that — or you’ve got to leave out Nathan Lyon. I’m pretty sure they’re not going to do that."

Murphy was Australia's most successful bowler in Nagpur, outbowling all his colleagues comprehensively to take seven wickets on his debut. Nevertheless, it was a struggle overall as they allowed India to grab a lead of 223 runs after managing only 177 on the board in the first innings.

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"They’ve put themselves in such a tough position" - Stuart Clark

Travis Head. (Image Credits: Getty)

Stuart Clark also suggested that omitting Travis Head was the wrong call despite Andrew McDonald rejecting suggestions that they had committed a mistake. Clark added:

"Travis Head at No.5, if you start with him and it doesn’t work, then you can make a change. Now, they either shoot themselves in the foot if they drop Matthew Renshaw because they say ‘Okay, we made a mistake’, and Andrew McDonald has come out and said ‘We haven’t made a mistake.’

"They’ve put themselves in such a tough position."

Head's omission from the XI for the Nagpur Test sparked outrage. The likes of Allan Border and Steve Waugh called out the management for dropping the left-hander despite a productive summer. With Matt Renshaw's failure in the first Test, the South Australian is likely to return for the match in Delhi.