Pucovski’s Ashes call-up in doubt as Victoria keep him out of Shield fixture

Sydney, Nov 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) Young Australian batter Will Pucovski's Ashes call-up is in doubt after it was known that the 23-year-old will not be in the Victoria side which will take on NSW in this week's Sheffield Shield fixture.

Puckvski hasn't played competitive cricket since he injured his shoulder in his Test debut against India earlier this year and then suffered a 10th concussion during a training session with Victoria earlier in October.

Though he has shown signs of recovery from the concussion, the Victorian team management has reportedly not picked him for the Shield clash, as they want to first test him at a lower level first.

Pucovski hasn't also been considered for the Australian intra-squad match to be played in Brisbane on December 1, ahead of the opening Ashes Test scheduled from December 8 at the Gabba.

It was long speculated that Pucovski would recover from the concussion and open the innings with David Warner in the Ashes after he made 62 and 10 in his Test debut against India in January.

But with his pre-season schedule getting disrupted, Cricket Australia (CA) selection chief George Bailey has indicated that Marcus Harris would get the opportunity to open with Warner.

"It's really difficult just to walk into one of these (Shield) games unprepared," Victorian coach Chris Rogers was quoted as saying by foxsports.com.au on Tuesday.

"All the people who are in these conversations understand we have an immense talent on our hands and we want him to be playing for five to 10 years, so these are the decisions we are going to make in his best interests to set him up to have a long career," added Rogers.

"Of course he wants to play for Australia for a long time to come. There's a strong desire to get him into that Australian side, he's such a talented player. I think the decision is to look after him and allow him a bit more time to prepare in the right time rather than rush him to matches which are going to have a lot of intensity and scrutiny," he added.

Source: IANS