Australia ponder captaincy options for India series with Clarke injured

Injured Australia captain Michael Clarke could miss the upcoming Tests against India as he focuses on being fit for next year's World Cup and Ashes series, a report said on Monday.

Chief selector Rod Marsh's confidence the 33-year-old would be fit to face India at the Gabba on Dec 4 was undermined by Pat Howard on Monday, the team performance manager saying Clarke had virtually no chance of playing in the series.

Coach Darren Lehmann has not given up hope, however.

"Until I get confirmation, I'm not going to say he's in or he's out," he told reporters in Perth on Monday.

"At the moment, he's captain of Australia and, if he's fit to play and gets through the next little bit, then hopefully he'll front up in the first Test."

The opening batsman, 33, has never missed a home Test but Cricket Australia team performance chief Howard said "everything is on the table" for Clarke, including possible surgery.

The 107-Test veteran will be examined by experts this week after scans on his troublesome left hamstring, which he hurt while batting during Friday's one-day win over South Africa, proved inconclusive.

"We are putting the World Cup and Ashes right up there and if he's right for the Indian Test series so be it," team performance chief Pat Howard told Fairfax Media.

"But we've seen him rushed back and what we'd hate is for him to play a Test or two and then break down.

"Everything is on the table at this point. We saw (paceman) Nathan Coulter-Nile go through hamstring surgery and come back in eight weeks, so obviously that is one possibility."

Clarke's playing future has become uncertain after he suffered his third hamstring injury since August, while he is regularly troubled by a degenerative back complaint.

His problems have resurfaced at the start of a busy schedule, with Australia beginning a four-Test series against India on December 4 in Brisbane, followed by a home triangular tournament.

From February, Australia are co-hosts of the World Cup and in July they will be touring England for the high-pressure, five-Test Ashes series.

"I have talked about the priorities and what they are. Sometimes you have got to take a little bit of a long-term and a medium-term picture," Howard said.

"If we do this well, we can get extra years out of Michael who is a world-class player, rather than thinking in days and tournaments.

"We have an opportunity to really get the best out of the last couple of years of his career."

Clarke has said he has no intention of quitting limited-overs cricket after the World Cup, but his future in the format is likely to be discussed after the February-March tournament, Fairfax Media said.

"Getting to the World Cup is important and how we get through this progress and rehab program will be important first," Howard said.

"Anything past that we will assess how his body has come through that period and it will be a consultative process."

Since taking over as captain in 2011, Clarke has managed a long-term back injury, which contributes to his frequent hamstring problems, to play all but one of his country's 39 Tests.

Understudy

But with Australia's main priority over the next couple of months being to keep him fit for the World Cup, an understudy might now be required for the four matches against India.

The most obvious choice to become Australia's 45th Test captain is vice-captain Brad Haddin.

The wicketkeeper has the leadership qualities required but has also been ruled out of the ongoing one-day series against South Africa because of a shoulder injury.

Shane Watson, who stood in for the injured Clarke for one Test on the India tour last year, is another option but neither the 33-year-old all rounder nor Haddin, 37, are long term solutions.

George Bailey, 32, stood in as skipper of the one-day team after Clarke's hamstring failed him again in the opening match of the series against South Africa last Friday.

The former Twenty20 captain is admired for his calm leadership but just 183 runs in the last Ashes series appear to have curtailed his Test career after only five matches.

Of the younger candidates, opening batsman David Warner is in the frame by virtue of being an automatic selection, but his chequered disciplinary record might work against him.

The 28-year-old was fined for a twitter outburst aimed at two journalists last year and suspended ahead of the first Ashes series of 2013 after punching England's Joe Root.

Another top order batsman, Steve Smith, has come from nowhere to be widely touted as a future Australia captain.

Smith is one of the few players who returned from Australia's 2-0 Test defeat at the hands of Pakistan in October with his reputation enhanced.

The 25-year-old, though, might be considered in need of more time to cement his status as a Test cricketer.

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