Australia is taking on India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2022, and has endured a dismal run of form in the series in the subcontinent. They have been soundly defeated in both Tests within the first three days of the game. The team has been continually weakened, either due to injuries to some players or them departing due to personal matters. After Mitchell Swepson, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and David Warner, star spinner Ashton Agar is also set to return to Australia, further depleting the squad.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, Ashton Agar is set to return to Australia to hone his skills in domestic cricket. Agar will join Western Australia for their Sheffield Shield match on March 2, and will also be part of their Marsh Cup squad for the 50-over tournament starting on March 8.
“Australia are 2-0 down in the series, and Josh Hazlewood and David Warner have already gone back home with injuries. Unlike them, Agar will leave fully fit and available to play in WA’s next Sheffield Shield game on March 2 and the 50-over Marsh Cup final that WA will host on March 8,” said the report.
Mitchell Swepson returned to Australia prior to the second Test in Delhi for the birth of his child and is scheduled to fly back to India ahead of the third Test in Indore. Pat Cummins flew back to Australia for personal reasons and it is still uncertain whether he will return to India. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood and David Warner have both been ruled out for the remainder of the series due to injury.
Ashton Agar, who was brought to India as one of the four spinners in the Australian side for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, failed to make an appearance in any of the matches. In the first game, Australia opted for two spinners, with debutant Todd Murphy joining the experienced Nathan Lyon. For the second game, the Baggy Greens chose to go with three spinners, yet Agar still couldn’t break into the playing XI, with Matthew Kuhnemann being selected to make his Test debut alongside Lyon and Murphy.
READ| Harmanpreet Kaur beats Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma to create this rare record
