"He has to have the courage to get back on the horse, and he wants to do that" - Justin Langer indicates Will Pucovski ready for Sydney Test
Australia coach Justin Langer has revealed Will Pucovski is in a positive frame of mind going into the third Test and indicated the youngster could be in line to make his debut against India in Sydney.
Langer is also happy to know that Pucovski will not face any long-term impact from his concussion injury.
Will Pucovski missed the first two Tests against India after he was struck on the head by a Kartik Tyagi bouncer in the tour game against India-A.
Justin Langer's fear, however, has been put at ease by a neurologist, who is confident Pucovski will not suffer any long-term issues.
"The real heartening thing for him is that while he’s had a few concussion in the past ... it’s not necessarily going to have any long-term impact on him. And I think when you can put your mind at rest with that, then that’s a real positive for him." said Langer.
“He’s in a great frame of mind; he’s incredibly positive about playing cricket, he’s trained hard this week and, as he and I have discussed a number of times, the only way to get back on the horse is to get back on the horse. He’s ultimately the one who has to make the decision. He has to have the courage to get back on the horse, and he wants to do that, and that’s a really, really positive sign moving forward,” Langer added.
Can Will Pucovski solve Australia's top order issues?
Australia used a makeshift opening pair of Matthew Wade and Joe Burns for the first Two Tests as they missed the services of David Warner and Will Pucovski.
Burns managed scores of 8,51*,0 & 4 in the four innings and looked woefully out of form even though he managed a half-century in the series.
On the other hand, Wade fared a bit better as he scored 8, 33,30 & 40. However, he could be pushed into his original batting position in the middle order as indicated by Australia's assistant coach Andrew McDonald.
Will Pucovski is yet to make his international debut, but he has impressed everyone with his strokeplay in first-class cricket. The 22-year-old averages 54.50 in 23 first-class games and has a best score of 255*.
There will be some concerns regarding his ability to tackle short balls as Pucovski has suffered several concussion injuries in his career!
But as Langer said, the only way one can find out whether they are good enough is to go out there and play.
The third Test of the four-match series will start on Thursday in Sydney, with the series currently tied at 1-1. After suffering a crushing defeat in the first Test, India emphatically won the second match by eight wickets.