Handscomb called as cover-up for injured Finch for India series

Australia have called up wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Handscomb as a cover for injured opener Aaron Finch for the upcoming five-match One-day International (ODI) series in India, starting here on Sunday.

Already struggling with a calf issue, Finch aggravated the injury during the team's practice session on Thursday and is likely to miss the first three matches of the series.

The 30-year-old suffered the injury six weeks ago, while playing for Surrey in England and was also left out of Tuesday's warm-up game against the Indian Board President's XI.

"Aaron re-aggravated his pre-existing calf injury during warm-up at training on Thursday," team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"He has had a scan in Chennai and although we believe it is not a serious recurrence, he will not be available for the first few one-day matches here in India. He will remain with the squad whilst we assess the injury and establish his return to play timelines," he added.

Handscomb, who recently returned to Melbourne following the Test tour of Bangladesh, will depart for India on Saturday and will be available for selection in Sunday's series opener at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here.

Uncapped all-rounder Hilton Cartwright opened in Finch's absence but was dismissed for a second-ball duck in Australia's 103-run win against the Board President's XI. Travis Head is another option that the tourists might be tempted to explore given his experience at the international level.

--IANS

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