Clarke set to face India despite injury concerns

32-year-old Australian captain Michael Clarke has been included in his country’s squad to face India in a one-day series in October. This despite him suffering a back injury.

32-year-old Australian captain Michael Clarke has been included in his country’s squad to face India in a one-day series in October. This despite him suffering a back injury.

The series will consist of seven ODI’s and a one-off twenty20. Clarke has suffered chronic back pain for much of his career and missed the Champions Trophy in June when it flared up soon after arriving in England.

The series will start on October 10th with the one-off Twenty20 and conclude on 2 November – 19 days before the start of the second Ashes series of 2013.

Australia who lost this summer’s series 3-0 will be looking to rebound on home soil after losing three Ashes series in a row for the first time in their history. Clarke’s fitness is key to Australia regaining the urn down under after he was the only shining light in the corresponding series in England. He will have to pull out all the stops and draw on every ounce of his experience to galvanize a side which many former players have labelled the worst ever.