David Warner may be risked for the third Test even if not fully fit

Australia assistant coach Andrew McDonald revealed that the team may opt to play David Warner in the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) even if he is not fully fit. McDonald said that the final decision on this will be made between Warner and head coach Justin Langer.

David Warner was ruled out of the first two Tests after tearing his adductor muscle during the limited-overs series against India. He has now been included in the 18-men squad for the remaining two Tests of the series.

Andrew McDonald opened up on the plans about David Warner during an interaction with the media on Thursday.

“Look, if he's 90-95% fit and the conversation is that he's fit enough to be able to go out there and perform his duties for the team, then I'm sure that'll be a conversation the coach has with the player. Most times Justin is pretty open with the players in terms of giving them accountability around that."

Opening batsman Joe Burns, who has had a woeful summer with the bat, has been dropped from the squad after the first two Tests against India.

ICYMI, David Warner & Will Pucovski are both back in Australia's Test squad, but Joe Burns has been dropped #AUSvIND https://t.co/muyWqmxPLv

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 30, 2020

Inclusion of David Warner a desperate attempt to bolster the batting line-up

Joe Burns has had a summer to foget

The Australian side has struggled with its batting in the Test series so far. They reached the 200-mark only on one occasion in three completed innings across the two Test matches.

An out of-form Joe Burns opened the batting for the hosts in the company of Matthew Wade, who was promoted up the order as a stop-gap measure.

The proposal to include David Warner in the playing XI even if he is not fully fit is part of a desperate measure to bolster the struggling batting line-up.

Uncapped top-order batsman Will Pucovski, who had also missed the first two Tests owing to injury, has been added to the squad for the remainder of the Test series.

Will Pucovski's ability to bounce back from numerous concussions with tons of runs could give selectors confidence he is ready to make his Test debut against India in Sydney #AUSvIND https://t.co/uspMvsVmMW

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 31, 2020