By 
Australia opener David Warner has been ruled out of the remainder of the second Test on Saturday after suffering a blow on his head on Day 1 of the second Test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in Delhi.
Middle-order batter Matthew Renshaw has been now named Warner’s replacement and will participate in the remainder of the second Test. However, it has to be noted that Renshaw cannot bowl his part-time off-spin and can only take part in the game as a batter given Warner rarely bowls and the concussion substitute must be a like-for-like replacement.
Warner suffered hits from Mohammad Siraj’s bowling twice during his knock of 15 off 44 balls in the first innings of the second Test on Day 1. He first suffered a hit on his elbow, following which he was hit on his helmet by repeated bouncers from Siraj.
Warner looked a bit uncomfortable after getting hit on his helmet but showed no immediate signs of discomfort and kept batting. However, he soon lost his concentration and was dismissed caught behind off pacer Mohammed Shami. He did not field later in the day during India’s innings and subsequently failed a concussion test.
“Warner will now follow the graduated return to sport protocols ahead of the third Test in Indore in line with Cricket Australia guidelines,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.
According to ICC rules, Warner is allowed to be replaced in the playing XI mid-match due to his concussion. Match referee Andy Pycroft has approved Renshaw as Warner’s replacement before play on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Warner’s concussion is not the only concern for Australia. It has been revealed that he is also nursing a fractured elbow, putting him in severe doubt to play in the remainder of the Border Gavaskar Trophy series.
Renshaw scored 0 and 2 in the first Test of the series in Nagpur before getting dropped for the second Test in Delhi, with his counterpart Travis Head replacing him in the middle order.
26-year-old Renshaw started his career as an opener and has recently started batting in the middle order. Before the start of play on Day 2, Renshaw had a hit in the nets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
At stumps on Friday, Usman Khawaja said that his opening partner Warner was not feeling 100 per cent.
“He is a little bit weary at the moment,” Khawaja said of Warner. “He obviously got a knock to the arm and then to the head and the head (knock) made him a little bit weary, hence why he didn’t come out to field.”
36-year-old Warner averages only 21.78 with the bat in India, which is well below his career average of 45.57. Warner has scored 0, 10 and 1 in his last three innings in the series.
After questions were raised on his place in the side, Warner ended his long century drought with a marathon double-century against South Africa’s strong pace bowling attack in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
“Three innings is not enough for me – I think there’s still a long way to go in this Test series,” Khawaja said after play on Friday.
“Dave has been such a terrific player for such a long time. Every time his back is against the wall, he produces something so we’ll see.”
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