Last Updated on 7 months by Charbel Coorey
Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, who left the England limited overs tour early due to a back injury, has been ruled out of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). It was originally hoped that he would play as a specialist batsman, but the injury was much more serious than first thought.
Journalist Peter Lalor shared the news, with a stress fracture in Green’s back ruling him out of the entire summer. ESPNcricinfo also reported that back surgery is on the cards for the all-rounder, which Green has decided to do, as confirmed officially by Cricket Australia.
Green’s absence makes things all the more trickier for Australia. This will involve more overs for fellow all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, as well as making a call as to who opens the batting with Steve Smith likely to move back to number four.
Both issues are cause of concern for Australia against a strong Indian team who have won their last two series down under and are playing with great confidence. In addition to needing to make a decision on who partners Usman Khawaja, Marsh has been short of bowling of late, with his workload limited in the UK. So, the Australians will need overs out of him heading into the series.
Nevertheless, expect plenty of bowling from Nathan Lyon, who will be after a big series himself. Australia’s most prolific offspinner has found the going tough in India’s last two visits, taking a total of 30 wickets at an average of 37.8 and strike rate of 85.8.
Cameron Green ruled out of 2024/25 BGT due to serious back injury
Green will undergo an operation on his back, ruling him out of action for up to six months. This means he will miss Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in early 2025 as well as the Champions Trophy. Plus, he will be a big doubt for the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The operation was considered the appropriate course of action as a “unique defect in an adjacent area to the fracture is believed to be contributing to the injury”. It is a similar surgery India’s Jasprit Bumrah underwent, according to cricket.com.au.
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