Warner to return to Australia after elbow injury

SYDNEY: Banned Australian batsman David Warner will return home from Bangladesh to have an injured elbow assessed, Cricket Australia said Thursday.

The extent of the injury is not yet known, but it raises concerns of a stint on the sidelines for the explosive opener alongside disgraced teammate Steve Smith, as the pair face a disrupted return to international cricket.

Warner, who continues to serve his 12-month suspension from the national team for his role in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, reportedly injured the elbow during a flamboyant knock for the Sylhet Sixers in the Bangladesh Premier League on Wednesday.He will return to Australia next Monday, after two more matches in the Bangladesh Twenty20 competition.

“While the extent of the injury remains unknown, Warner will continue to play for the Sylhet Sixers before he departs, meaning he will feature in matches on the 18th and 19th,” Cricket Australia’s official news site reported.

The injury just days after former captain Steve Smith returned to Australia to have elbow surgery following an injury he sustained while playing in the same Bangladesh tournament.Smith is expected to be in a brace for six weeks before undergoing extensive rehabilitation.

The disgraced pair still have three months of their suspensions left to run over the incident last March that rocked the game.The injuries could prove a major blow to the national side, with the star batsmen facing the prospect of less match-time in the lead up to their expected return to the national side ahead of the World Cup in late May.

Fox News reported that Warner injured the elbow during his creative unbeaten 61 off 36 balls for Sylhet against the Rangpur Riders.The left-hander switched to a right-handed stance while facing a spell from Chris Gayle, smashing the West Indies superstar back over his head for six.