Peter Handscomb is racing against time to embark on his first Australian test tour in four years after scans confirmed a hip injury.
Handscombe was beaten and injured while trying to play his shot at the club while playing cricket at Victoria on Tuesday night. He continued batting, but collapsed in pain three balls later after hitting another pull his shot for six.
Subsequent scans confirmed soft tissue damage to his right hip joint. Officials are confident Handscom can depart for India with an Australian team later this month. Australia already have other concerns at camp, including both Mitchell Stark and Cameron Green treating finger injuries.
Starck will miss his February 9 first test at Nagpur and will fly to India while Green hopes to play in the series opener.
Handscomb’s best shot at recall is if he fits the first game and Green doesn’t recover in time.
Handscomb is favored by the fact that he is right-handed and can beat the middle left-handed ranks. He was recently added to the Australian squad for the final test against South Africa when Marcus Harris was dismissed for the BBL. “He deserves to be back in the team,” said national team coach George Bailey. “His domestic form has been strong lately and Pete has shown that he can play at Test level. I have.”