Injured Marsh ruled out of remaining India series

Photo: AP

New Delhi: Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the remainder of the India tour with a recurrence of a shoulder injury. 

Marsh will fly back to Australia and a like-for-like replacement is expected to be named soon. Moises Henriques, new comer Hilton Cartwright are one of the front runners to replace Marsh.

Marsh scored 48 runs in four innings and bowled just five overs – all in Bengaluru – in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. 

"Mitchell has been playing with a shoulder injury for most of the summer, which we have been managing up until now, but unfortunately it has progressively deteriorated to a point where he is unable to function at the level required," said team physiotherapist David Beakley. 

"Consequently he will return to Australia to consult with specialists to advise the best course of action."  

Marsh has been struggling with his shoulder for quite some time now. He was named in Australia’s Test squad for India despite having been ruled out of January’s VB ODI Series against Pakistan after injuring the same shoulder.

The 25-year-old missed the preceding ODI tour to New Zealand, but recovered in time to play in Australia’s sole warm-up match in Mumbai before returning to the starting XI for the first Test in Pune. 

“It was fine when he got here but it’s gotten worse,” said national coach Darren Lehmann. “I was confident (Marsh was fit), I thought he played really well in the second innings in Pune where he got 31. At the end of the day it’s unlucky for Mitch.” 

“We move to whoever the next person who comes in (is). Whether we go with Usman Khawaja or Glenn Maxwell or whoever’s selected, we’ll just wait and see.” 

With an extra batsman (Khawaja) and two spin-bowling allrounders (Maxwell and Ashton Agar) already in the squad, Lehmann confirmed another all-rounder would be flown in from Australia. Potential candidates include NSW Blues captain Moises Henriques, New Year’s Test debutant Hilton Cartwright and Victoria’s Marcus Stoinis, who made a stunning return to international cricket in the 50-over format against the Black Caps in January-February.  Henriques has played four Tests, all of which have come in Asia, and scored a career-high 265 against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield last month.