Australian pacer James Pattinson has been ruled out of contention to play the Sydney Test against India because of an injury.
The Victorian reportedly hurt his ribs due to a fall at his residence while on approved leave after the Boxing Day Test.
James Pattinson, who did not play the first two Tests, is widely considered as the first back-up option for Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in the Australian pace department.
Cricket Australia has not named a replacement for the injured pacer. Michael Neser and Sean Abbott, who himself has just returned from a calf injury, are the other two reserve pacers in the Aussie Test squad. Both of them are yet to make their Test debuts.
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James Pattinson has been bogged down by a spate of injuries throughout his career. He will be assessed after the Sydney Test to confirm his availability for the final encounter of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Brisbane.
James Pattinson has snared 81 wickets in the 21 Test matches he has played for Australia thus far, doing so at a decent average of 26.33.
This includes four 5-wicket hauls with the best figures of 5/27. He has achieved twice, firstly in his debut Test against New Zealand at the Gabba and subsequently against West Indies at Hobart.
Source: SportsKeeda
