Sports
India Australia India-Australia Series: Injured David Warner ruled out of Boxing Day Test
Adelaide: Australian opener David Warner has been officially ruled out of the Boxing Day Test as he continues to recover from a groin injury.
And while fast bowler Sean Abbott has returned to full fitness following a calf strain, he has also been ruled out of the second Vodafone Test, due to Cricket Australia's strict biosecurity protocols, read the Cricket Australia website.
Warner and Abbott both left Sydney last Saturday to fly to Melbourne ahead of the Australia squad as the COVID19 outbreak developed in Sydney, where the pair were at home recuperating from their injuries outside the team's bio-secure hub.
While neither were in a designated COVID 'hotspot' identified by NSW Health, CA's protocols do not allow them to rejoin the squad in time for the Test, read the Cricket Australia website.
The pair will return to the Australia squad ahead of the third Test, but Warner's absence means Australia have firmed to take an unchanged XI into the second Test with Joe Burns and Matthew Wade continuing their makeshift opening combination after mixed results in the opening Test.
Burns had been cleared of a broken arm after he copped a nasty blow to the elbow on an action-packed third day of the first Test, when his unbeaten 51 helped Australia complete an eight-wicket win over India at Adelaide Oval.
Wade and Burns shared a 70-run stand in the final innings of the pink-ball Test before the Tasmanian fell to a bizarre dismissal as a shot rebounded off the short-leg fielder for wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha to gather and flick between his legs to catch Wade out of his ground.
Will Pucovski had already been ruled out of the Boxing Day clash with the lingering effects of concussion after he suffered a blow to the helmet while batting for Australia A in a tour match against the Indians at Drummoyne.
Abbott, who would have been an unlikely starter for Boxing Day, had recovered from a calf strain suffered in the second Australia A tour match.
But the 34-year-old Warner, who injured his groin while fielding in the Dettol ODI Series against India is not yet fully fit and will miss a second straight Test match.
Warner last played a Test match in January when he smashed an unbeaten 111 against New Zealand at the SCG.
