Michael Clarke claims Australia ‘shot themselves in the foot’ with huge Travis Head blunder in India

Michael Clarke believes Australia could have won the series in India had they chosen Travis Head in the opening Test and has asked the selectors to drop David Warner in favor of South Australia at The Ashes.

India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth time in a row after winning the four-match Test series 2-1.

But Clarke believes the result would have been different if the selectors had chosen Head for the first Test at Nagpur, where they were beaten by an innings and 132 runs.

“Did somebody come out and say: ‘We were wrong’?” he said on Sky Sports radio on Monday.

“Everyone came out at that point and said, ‘We made the right decision’, is it still the right decision not to have picked Travis Head in the first Test match?

Head returned to the team in the second Test at Delhi and made 235 runs at an average of 47 in six innings after replacing David Warner at the top of the order.

Surprisingly omitted for the opening Test in Nagpur with selectors favoring Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb, the South Australian replaced David Warner at the top of the order in the second innings in Delhi.

After the latter was ruled out with concussion and a broken elbow, Head retained his place as starter and never looked back, making 235 runs at an average of 47 in six innings.

His 43 of 46 deliveries on a turnaround field in Delhi showed the kind of composure and purpose that left his teammates, while his unbeaten 49 in the second innings at Indore sealed Australia’s only win of the series.

Head followed with 32 and 90 in Ahmedabad as the final Test ended in a draw in a batsman-friendly deck.

Handscomb hit a brilliant 72 in Delhi but struggled at Indore and Ahmedabad, while Renshaw scored just four runs in his three innings in the series.

Clarke said Australia had “shot themselves in the foot” and drew parallels with the decision to skip Steve Smith for most of the T20 World Cup late last year.

The 33-year-old played just one game as the defending champions were knocked out in the group stage on home soil.

“Being a selector is a tough job, don’t get me wrong, but we have to admit we were wrong not to pick Steve Smith in our Twenty20 World Cup campaign.” [and] we were wrong not to pick Travis Head in the first test match. So it’s no coincidence that we lost both.

‘We lost the T20 World Cup, we underperformed, and we had every opportunity when you look at this past Test series, no matter how difficult the terrain was.

We could have won the series. That’s how close it should have been.

The Australian selectors have a big call to make ahead of this winter’s tour of England with Head emerging as the favorite to replace Warner permanently.

The veteran starter has been adamant that he wants to play for The Ashes, but he is averaging a modest 26.04 in 25 innings in England and that decision may no longer be up to him.

Warner, who scored 1, 10 and 15 during a dismal series in India, topped 50 just twice in his last 24 innings and Clarke urged them to drop the 36-year-old.

‘The first test in England, how do you choose David Warner?’ he said.

‘How do you justify that if you choose Dave Warner now?’

Warner’s Test series was interrupted by a broken elbow and concussion suffered in the early innings of the second Test in Delhi.

Clarke believes the 36-year-old should be ruled out of the Ashes’ next tour this winter.

Australia manager Andrew McDonald is adamant Warner remains a big part of his plans.

Meanwhile, Australia coach Andrew McDonald has insisted that Warner stick with his plans for the World Test Championship final against India in June at The Oval in London.

‘Some want to go out a certain way, and others are okay with possibly being removed from the sides.

“But at the moment, Dave is fully in our plans for the WTC final.

‘He will return for the ODI series [against India]he’s recovered from his injury so we’ll see Dave back in Australian colors on March 17th and we’ll go from there.