Brisbane, Sep 8 (IANS) Exciting fast bowler Callum Vidler has been ruled out of Australia A’s upcoming tour of India due to a partial fracture in his L3 vertebra.

Vidler was due to represent Australia A in the white-ball leg of their tour of India later this month, but this setback means he will now spend time rehabilitating on the sidelines.

“Callum experienced some back pain during training and promptly reported it. Unfortunately, the scans came back confirming a stress fracture, so he will spend some time recovering and then start a rehab plan.

“He’s naturally very disappointed but accepts that injuries are part of the game. We’ll work closely with him to ensure he has the best recovery to get him ready for a return to cricket,” said Joe Dawes, Queensland general manager of high performance, in a statement on Monday.

Vidler was one of Australian cricket’s brightest breakout stars last summer. Fresh from leading the attack in Australia’s victorious 2024 Under-19 World Cup campaign, he made his Sheffield Shield debut for Queensland. A fiery spell of 4-64 in the first innings of one of those games at the Karen Rolton Oval marked him out as a future fast-bowling spearhead.

Australia A had already been hit by injuries in the build-up to the series against India, with the side previously losing Lance Morris and his replacement Brody Couch from the red-ball squad.

Couch suffered a side strain but is expected to recover in time for the start of the upcoming Sheffield Shield season with Western Australia, while Morris faces a year-long layoff after opting to go for a surgery to solve his stress fracture in the back. It also means South Australia pacer Henry Thornton, who was drafted in as Couch’s replacement for the red-ball matches, will likely stay on for the three white-ball games.

Vidler is part of a promising quartet of quicks from Australia’s Under-19 group, alongside Tom Straker, Mahli Beardman and Charlie Anderson. While Straker is named in the Australia A white-ball squad for India tour, Beardman is currently sidelined with a stress fracture, while Anderson, who has battled significant back problems in the past, continues to be managed carefully.

–IANS

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