‘It’s progressing, not as fast as I would have liked’: Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green still in doubt for the India-Australia Delhi Test

Having missed out the first India-Australia Test in Nagpur last week, left arm quick Mitchell Starc there are still a few boxes to be ticked on the road to recovery but feels that there’s still a good chance that he may feature in the Delhi Test starting Friday.
“It’s progressing – not as fast as I would have liked, but it’s as planned in terms of the medical stuff. There’s a few boxes to tick, but it’s on track,” Starc said on Wednesday after Australia’s training session at Kotla. “I’d like to be a little further down the road, yeah.”

Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green bowled at full tilt on a centre-wicket strip today as Australia weigh up the consequences of picking both for Friday’s must-win second Test.#INDvAUS | @LouisDBCameron https://t.co/mGAq49OJ4w
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 15, 2023
He further added, “Still a good chance [of playing], it’ll come down to how it reacts the end of the day, how the medical staff see it, how the selectors and Pat and Ronnie [Andrew McDonald] feel about it as well. I’ll do everything I can to be fully available for selection. Then it’s a discussion for the rest of the group involved.”
Starc had sustained a middle finger injury in his bowling arm during the Australia-South Africa Boxing Day Test last year and has since remained out of action. The left armer has had his finger in a splint for weeks and said that batting for him would be uncomfortable, adding that he will field with a protective cap.
“I don’t think (batting will be an issue) so it’s going to be uncomfortable but I don’t think it’s an issue,” he said. “I think I’ll still field with a cap on (the finger), that’s what I did in Melbourne (after he initially broke the finger). I don’t field myself in slip anyway.”

Also out of action has been all-rounder Cameron Green, who had also picked up a same injury while batting against Anrich Nortje during the same Test in Melbourne. The all-rounder had underwent further scans of his finger earlier last week and his selection remains dodgy going into the second Test.
During the team training session, Green bowled at full tilt and then also took to batting at the nets. However, the Australian press had reported that the 23-year-old was seen having a chat with assant Michael Di Venuto apparently expressing discomfort after middling a shot.
Green’s fitness would aid Australia in not only adding to their batting but also in picking an extra spinner in the playing eleven. The visitors had bundled out for 177 and 91 in the two innings in Nagpur during last week’s heavy defeat that saw 16 of their batters being dismissed India’s spinners.