Cameron Green officially ruled out of India Tests & Champions Trophy

In what comes as a body blow to Australia, all-rounder Cameron Green has been ruled out of the five-match Test series against India as he has opted to have surgery to recover from the back stress fracture that he sustained during the Kangaroos’ tour of the United Kingdom last month.

Scans revealed a ‘unique defect’ that left the all-rounder with no option but to go under the knife in order to stop the injury from becoming a recurring one.

“After a week of assessments and consultations, Green was left to weigh up the decision to have the same type of surgery that has resurrected and prolonged the career of numerous fast bowlers, including Aussie quicks James Pattinson, Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshuis, as well as India's Jasprit Bumrah,” a report from cricket.com.au said.

“Green faced the choice of option for surgery or pushing on with rehab that would have potentially allowed him to return as a batter only during the five-Test series against India.

“That choice has now been made, and Green will undergo an operation, performed by pioneering Christchurch surgeons Grahame Inglis and Rowan Schouten, which involves screws and titanium wire to bind vertebrae together.”

With the surgery expected to put Green out of action for six months, the 25-year-old has officially been ruled out of the five-match series against India, the two-Test series away in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Not only that, there is a high likelihood that Green might miss the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), given he will not be fully fit by the time the competition commences. 

It will now be up to his franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), to decide whether Green is worth retaining ahead of the mega auction, especially now with the injury bombshell. Needless to say, going forward, Australia will also likely be extremely strict about managing the youngster’s workload. 

With Green ruled out, Australia can restructure the starting XI against India in three ways: push Steve Smith back to No.4, replace Green with another all-rounder or replace the right-hander with a specialist middle-order batter.

READ: Three ways Australia can tackle Green's absence in India Tests

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