Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting suggested that Usman Khawaja can open the innings in place of David Warner in the second Test of the Ashes 2021-22 if the latter is ruled out due to injuries.
Australian opener David Warner had a great start to Ashes 2021-22. The southpaw smashed 94 runs in the first innings of the first Test in Gabba, Brisbane to give his team the desired start.
However, during his innings, Warner was at the receiving end of some nasty blows on his chest courtesy of Mark Wood and Ben Stokes. The southpaw didn’t take the field on Day 3 as it was learned that he was in discomfort.
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Even though x-rays revealed that there were no fractures but experiencing pain, David Warner can miss the second Test in Adelaide, which will begin from 16th December.
Speaking to cricket.com.au, Ricky Ponting said if David Warner is unfit to play the second Test match against England then Usman Khawaja can open the batting for Australia.
He pointed out that even though Khawaja is in good form but him not opening for Australia in recent years can be a concern.
"If (Warner) can't play, I think it's probably Khawaja that goes in and opens the batting. Although he hasn't done it the last couple of years for Queensland he's done it for Australia before. He's obviously in really good form, so I think that's probably the way to go. I think he's experienced enough, but the fact he hasn't done it for a while would be a bit of a concern," Ricky Ponting said.
Pointing while talking about Warner’s injury said that it’s a worrying sign for Australia that he didn’t take the field on Day 3. He added that after being hit on the chest, he saw Warner wearing a chest guard, and with him, not fielding depicts that there's more to the injury than what has been made public.
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"It's a worry that he's not out there at all. We'll have a better idea when he bats or if he bats at all in the second innings. I noticed that after he got hit, he came out after one of the breaks and you could see that he had a little (chest), guard, over that area.
“I got a bit worried about it then because I've never seen him with a chest guard on before. Even if it's just bruising, I would think that he'd be out there fielding, so there might be a bit more to it than what we're hearing," he said.
Notably, Usman Khawaja has opened the innings for Australia in seven Tests and has amassed 484 runs at an average of 96.8 at the top of the order.
(ANI inputs)
