David Warner and Sean Abbott have officially been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test against India at the MCG.<\/p>\n
Superstar opening batsman Warner has not fully recovered from a groin injury suffered in this summer's ODI series.<\/p>\n
Squad member Abbott has recovered from a calf strain sustained during Australia A's tour match against India but is not available for selection for the Boxing Day Test, because Cricket Australia's biosecurity protocols won't allow either player to rejoin the squad in time.<\/p>\n
Both men spent time in Sydney outside the team's "bubble" to recover from their injuries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The pair travelled from Sydney to Melbourne to continue their rehabilitation given the changing public health situation in Sydney at the time.<\/p>\n
That has led to talks Cricket Australia could cancel the third Test at the SCG starting on January 7 as early as Wednesday and instead schedule back-to-back matches in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
"I think everyone's preference here would be to play in Sydney but we'll obviously be guided by experts, from our medical staff, the governments and everything," Australia's Steve Smith said.<\/p>\n
"\u2026 But if something was to happen and they needed us to play here (Melbourne) again then I'm sure they'd be able to come up with some kind of solution.<\/p>\n
"The groundsmen are pretty good these days at adapting to different situations, so we'll just wait and see."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"