Selectors thinking about benching David Warner in second Test, Travis Head could replace him: Reports

The Australian team was caught in the selection dilemma ahead of the first Test – where they not only dropped their best batter in the past one year Travis Head, but also missed the trick by not playing a left-arm spinner or a leg-spinner on the Nagpur track. As a result, they paid a hefty price as theylostthe match an innings and 132 runs. Now for them to redeem themselves in this four-match Test series, they have some selection issues to iron out. As per latest reports in the Australian media, there are talks of dropping veteran batter David Warner for Travis Head for the second Test in Delhi that begins on February 17th.

If not for his dismal outings in the sub-continent or in India in particular, Warner would have gone down as one of Australia’s greatest Test openers. However, his records against India in India are bad enough for anyone who wants to push his case for selection for the next Test.Having played nine Tests in India since 2013, Warner has only managed a mere 399 runs at an average of 22.16. So much so that his dismissals in both innings in Nagpur proved that the attacking left-hander hasn’t learnt much from his past mistakes.

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While Warner returned to form during the home series against the Windies and Proteas, where he scored 525 runs across seven innings including a double hundred in his 100th Test, he has once again come under the radar for the series of poor scores in the sub-continent.

Upset over Warner’s struggling scorecard in this part of the world, the selectors are now believed to be contemplating about benching him for the remainder of Tests, as per a report in Sydney Morning Herald.

Meanwhile, Matt Renshaw, who was picked ahead of Travis Head returned with scores of 0 & 2 in the Nagpur Test, whereas, spin-specialist Peter Handscomb could only manage 37 runs (31, 6) across two outings. Opener Usman Khawaja also failed in both innings – scoring a mere 1 and 5.

On the other hand, pacer Mitchell Starc is set to join the Australian squad in Delhi after recovering from his finger injury, while left-arm orthodox Matt Kuhnemann has also been roped in as replacement of leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson – who returned home for the birth of his first child.

Come the second Test, it would be interesting to see if Australia really remove Warner from the top or give him one more Test.