IND vs AUS | Glenn Maxwell Back Into Rehab Ahead Of ODI Series In India
#OTD: MS Dhoni bid farewell to Test cricket
"He's pretty hopeful"- Chris Rogers confirms Will Pucovski wants to keep playing at the highest level
Injury-prone prodigy Will Pucovski will be fit for the Ashes reckons coach Chris Rogers
When Will Pucovski hit two back to back double centuries in the Sheffield Shield’s last season and was called up to represent the Australian national team against India in the Test series. It was thought that the 3rd Test of the series at Sydney in which he was making his debut, would be the breakthrough moment for the injury-prone prodigy. However, as if made of glass, he got injured again right after the match once again and was never to be seen. The 23-year-old underwent shoulder surgery in February and if his Victoria coach Chris Rogers is to be believed, the fans might expect the long-haired charisma to be back playing for the Aussie come the Ashes. “(There’s) A long way to go,” Rogers was quoted as saying to RSN Breakfast Club. “Shoulder injuries can take so long, and this one was the surgery. He’s just doing some basic stuff, but he’s targeted the first Shield game, so that’s excellent for us,” added the former Australian opener suggesting that Victoria might be benefited because of it when they start their Sheidfl journey against New South Wales on September 29 this year. The left-handed high backlift player, known for his low strike rates and grounded shots in the longest format of the game further suggested that once back to playing Pucovski won’t take much time to get into the groove. “For a player like him, I don’t think he’ll need a lot of time to get back into the groove of things. Hopefully, that first Shield game, he’s playing. I think if he gets a good run, we’ll see him playing in the Ashes. The great thing is there are enough games” said Rogers. There would actually be enough games, in fact, a whole Test as the Ashes 2021-22 begins on December 8 with the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, while Aussies play a Test against Afghanistan in November right ahead of the Ashes. Thus that game could turn out to be a testing ground for players like Pucovski.
Time is gold: Rogers feels Pucovski can fight his short ball demons
Australia A Assistant coach Chris Rogers believes that rising Aussie star with the bat, Will Pucovski can fight his demons with the short ball as he has shown in the past. "Time is gold. From my own experience, you just need a bit of time to get over it [short ball fear], and then get back in the nets, almost go through your process again, face your fears down a little bit, and almost get back on the horse," Rogers told Sydney Morning Herald. Rogers, who played 25 Tests for Australia was also tested by short balls during his time and that’s why he believes that Pucovski with the time at his side could become the next big thing for Aussies. But for that to happen, the Victorian coach [Victoria is Pucovski’s home team] believes that the prodigy needs to utilize his time off the first game. "Every day is going to count for him. And now he has a bit more time to prepare for (the second Test in) Melbourne, that's going to help. He's been through it before and keeps coming out the other side, so he's definitely shown resilience around it," said the 43-year-old. Pucovski, 22, selected in Australia's squad for Tests against India got concussed while playing a game for Australia A against the visiting team in Sydney. He has thus been ruled out of the first Test. Saying that Pucovski has been playing short ball all through the Sheffield Shield this year, Rogers, who scored 2015 runs for Australia at an average of 42.87 said, "But what people might not know is he played a couple of Shield games and they tried to bounce him from almost the 10th over, for his whole innings, and he got two double hundreds.” While India play their first game against Australia in Adelaide, Pucovskvi might get to play at his home turf in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, which starts from 26th December.