MELBOURNE: Australia batter Peter Handscomb will be racing against time to recover for next month's India tour after suffering a hip injury.
The 31-year-old sustained the injury while attempting to play a pull shot in club cricket in Victoria on Tuesday night and left the field retired hurt after collapsing in pain three balls later following another pull shot.
"Scans have since confirmed soft-tissue damage in his right hip," a report in cricket.com.au said on Friday.
"Officials are confident Handscomb will be fit to leave with the Australian team later this month for the Qantas tour of India."
Australia will play Test matches in Nagpur (February 9-13), New Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13).
However, Australia, who haven't won a Test series in India since 2004, are battling a string of injuries issues with their key players Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green both recovering from finger injuries.
Starc will miss the Nagpur Test but is likely to join his teammates for the rest of the series, while Green is hopeful of playing in the series opener.
Handscomb, who was part of the team that toured India in 2017, was named as batting backup in Australia's squad for the India series. He last played a Test in 2019.
"Peter Handscomb deserves his place back in the squad. His domestic form has been strong recently and Pete has proven he can perform at the Test level," former skipper and current chief selector George Bailey had said in a statement.
"His experience against spin on the subcontinent is valuable and he is also an exceptionally good close to the wicket catcher."
