By IANS
Melbourne : Australia may miss their inspirational skipper Ricky Ponting in the tri-series opener against India Sunday in Brisbane as he is yet to recover fully from a back injury, coach Tim Nielsen has said.
Ponting, who sustained the injury at the nets Thursday, also missed Australia’s one-off Twenty20 match against India Friday. Nielsen seemed concerned about how Ponting’s back would react to the journey from Melbourne to Brisbane.
“It’s something we’re very aware of. We’ll have to keep assessing him and see how he goes,” The Age Saturday quoted Nielsen as saying.
In case Ponting is ruled out for the match, wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist will lead the side.
Nielsen also said that he was expecting opener Matthew Hayden to be fit for Sunday’s game.
Hayden too missed Friday’s Twenty20 match because of a hamstring injury that had also ruled him out of the third Test against India at Perth.
“I’ve spoken to him (Mathew) only briefly,” Nielsen said, adding he was hoping to see the big-shouldered opener fit before the game.
Apart from Australia and India, the other team featuring in the tri-series is Sri Lanka.