Sydney: Injury-plagued Australian all rounder Shane Watson may risk his place in the Test team if he decides to quit bowling in bid to prolong his career, according to Cricket Australia (CA) high performance manager, Pat Howard.
Howard said CA would like to see Watson continue bowling since it always gives preference to multi-skilled players.
Watson, who has been ruled out of the Sydney Test this week with a recurring calf strain, is contemplating becoming a specialist batsman to prolong his career, News.com.au reports.
However, if Watson became purely a specialist batsman Watson’s million-dollar Indian Premier League (IPL) contract may shrink significantly or dry up altogether.
With just two centuries from 38 Tests and a career average of 37 Watson would struggle to command a middle order batting spot in Australia’s Test team.
Howard said Watson would be given every opportunity to keep forward his views, but the CA would take a step, which is best for the Australian cricket and that clearly indicates towards their inclination towards selecting players with more than one dimensions to their game.
ANI
First Published: Sunday, December 30, 2012, 16:41