Mosises Henriques is the latest in the queue of the injured Aussies players who will be flying back home due to a tweaked right hamstring picked up in the field during Monday’s victory in Mohali. Henriques who was himself a replacement is also down now and worries for Aussies continues. Henriques replaced James Hopes who was injured during the tour. Peter Siddle flied back home after the 4th ODI and now Henriques so its a difficult time for the Aussies.

They will be replaced by Victoria all-rounder Andrew McDonald and New South Wales fast bowler Burt Cockley, who will join the squad in time for the sixth ODI in Guwahati on Sunday.

The team has already lost players like Brett Lee (elbow), James Hopes (hamstring) and Tim Paine (finger), and is also playing without their full strength. Michael Clarke was already out of the series along with Brad Haddin, Nathan Bracken and Callum Ferguson.

“Moises complained of some discomfort after the fourth ODI in Mohali,” team physiotherapist Kevin Sims said. “He had an MRI scan when we arrived in Hyderabad which showed signs of injury to the right hamstring. The medical staff believe the injury will not recover sufficiently for him to participate in the last week of the tour and therefore we have decided he will return to Australia where he will continue his treatment.”

McDonald is the new face of the Aussies squad who has joined 12 months back and played four test matches, He has been very consistent in the recent Champions League where he was playing for Victoria. He took nine wickets in the series including the match winning four-wicket haul against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Cockley is an old player of New South Wales and is being very consistent with his performance.

“Andrew played very well for Victoria in the recent Champions League in India, was in very good form in the first Sheffield Shield game, scoring a hundred and bowling impressively on a batsman friendly Adelaide wicket and backing that up with a dominant display in Wednesday night’s Ford Ranger Cup match ,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “We are sure that Andrew will grab his opportunity and perform well in the Australian one-day set up.

“Burt is someone who the National Selection Panel has identified in the last 12 months as someone who could have an impact at international level. He performed well in the recent Ford Ranger Cup game against Western Australia (taking four wickets) and we think he will be well suited to Indian conditions.”

The captain Ricky Ponting said he felt for the injured players. “It’s disappointing to see these guys go down, because you know how much they want to play and be a part of the series and do the best they can to win games and win series,” Ponting told AAP. “So it’s more disappointing for them moreso than anything. I’m sure everyone who’s returned back home would much rather be here with the series as it is at the moment, but we’ve got what we’ve got.”

Coach Tim Nielsen applauded the depleted team for performing above expectations. “In the ideal team, we [first] had James Hopes and [then] Moises batting at No. 7 along the line,” Nielsen said. “We don’t have those players now. The bowling also needs to adjust to the conditions and then we would decide the batting line-up. It is not simple or easy. We have to ensure that we have five bowlers, plus a spare bowler, to ensure one guy doesn’t have an off day.

“The most difficult (thing), I suppose, is players getting hurt (so frequently) which means there is a change in the team in every game we have played. Having said that I’m pleased with the way the players have fought hard. The young players have come up to take up different roles.”

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