Smith is on track to be fit for the four-Test series against India
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has made it clear that captain Steve Smith and wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade will both be fit for the upcoming tour of India, which starts on February 23 in Pune.
Smith was ruled out of the recent three-match ODI series in New Zealand, which Australia lost 2-0, as he has been nursing a medial ligament ankle injury.
Wade was named captain for the series as a result of Smith’s injury, but he failed to feature in any of the games and actually returned home early after hurting his back while training ahead of the first ODI in Auckland on January 30.
Despite their injuries, Smith has already arrived in Dubai for Australia’s training camp and has begun batting, while Wade flew to the city on Sunday night.
“They’re all good,” Lehmann said. “So that’s a bonus, everyone fit to pick from and fit to prepare.”
Elaborating on Wade’s condition, Lehmann said: “He’ll be fine. He’s got on the plane. If there was any doubt, he wasn’t going to get on the plane. So that’s a good thing.”
As of now, Australia have no plans to bring in a second wicketkeeper even though Peter Nevill has scored centuries in two of his last three Sheffield Shield games for New South Wales.
“Unless something flares up during the Dubai leg or tour game (in Mumbai), we’ll stay status quo,” Lehmann said. “The bonus with the squad is you’ve got someone who can keep pretty well. That’s handy, having that just in case something happens.”
Back-up wicketkeeper Peter Handscomb worked with Brad Haddin during the ODI series against New Zealand and despite only scoring seven runs, he did take four catches behind the stumps.
“He was a bit rusty when he only got 10 minutes notice at Eden Park,” Lehmann said. “He had a good couple of sessions with Hadds, which was a bonus … he kept well (at Seddon Park).”
Haddin revealed that he spoke to Handscomb about what he needed to do if he were to be called up as Australia’s go-to wicketkeeper on short notice in the Test series against India.
“We talked the other day about having a routine … that can switch him back into wicketkeeping mode,” Haddin said. “If he’s doing that routine once every couple of weeks, or once every week at training – it’ll only be 15 minutes, that’ll make sure he’s getting his head around having to keep if these situations come up.
“He’s a natural catcher. It’s not foreign to him to keep.”