And while head coach and selector Andrew McDonald made it clear that Green may play as a batter only in Nagpur,he was also full of enthusiasm for the utility value of Handscomb as a member ofthe previous India Test tour in 2017.
Without Green’s bowling,the selectors are more likely to require two specialist fast men in the team,regardless of what kind of pitch is prepared in Nagpur,making a spin triumvirate picked from the quartet of Nathan Lyon,Ashton Agar,Mitch Swepson and Todd Murphy far less likely.
“He’s really important,” McDonald said of Handscomb. “It’s been well-documented over a period of time that his play against spin is excellent,and we feel as though he’s returned probably to what he was producing two or three years ago.
“Lots of runs in Shield cricket on those slower surfaces as well. He’s able to keep as well,so it gives us every option for Josh[Inglis] not to be there and if anything were to happen to Alex Carey,there’s flexibility there,but also in close fielder as well,bat pad,highly valued when you tour the subcontinent.
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“We see him as an important right-hand option. Got a lot of left-handers,so very important right-hand option for us. If there were to be any late changes,or Cameron Green doesn’t make that first Test,we feel we have some good options.”
Both Green and Mitchell Starc took part in training this weekend,the latter with a prominent guard on the finger with damaged ligaments on his bowling hand. Starc may still arrive late for the tour – ahead of the second Test in Delhi – once his scarred finger has fully healed.