Marnus Labuschagne has revealed his heartbreak for Brisbane Heat teammate Matthew Kuhnemman, whose recall to the Test team appears to be in tatters. Kuhnemann suffered a thumb injury on Thursday night during the Heat’s loss to the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, and appears to be in extreme doubt for the tour of Sri Lanka later this month.

Kuhnemann is one of three spinners in the Australian squad for the two-Test series, and had firmed to be picked in the Aussie XI alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy. But he was struck on the thumb by a straight-drive from Matthew Wade on Thursday night at the Gabba and immediately left the field in agony.

Speaking after the game, Labuschagne hinted that the prognosis wasn’t good for Kuhnemann. “I just heard about Matt Kuhnemann, so that’s pretty bad,” he told AAP. “Thumb … it doesn’t look great. I really feel for him. It’s someone I’m close to and he’s grown so much with his bowling and in Sri Lanka, he’s probably one of the first picked over there. I’m really gutted.”

Kuhnemann has played three Tests in his career – all in India in 2023. Working in his favour might be the fact the injured thumb is on his non-bowling hand, although he’d be racing the clock to be fit to fly out with the Aussie squad for their training camp in the UAE on Sunday.

Cooper Connolly could be big winner from Kuhnemann injury

If Kuhnemann was to be ruled out it would open the door for fellow Queenslander Mitchell Swepson, who played both Tests the last time Australia toured Sri Lanka in 2022. Uncapped West Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli and NSW leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha would also be in contention.

It would also open up the possibility of Cooper Connolly being picked in the XI due to his ability to bowl left-arm off-spin like Kuhnemann. Connolly is seen as a batter predominantly, but his all-round abilities saw him picked in the squad to tour Sri Lanka.

The West Australian is yet to take a wicket in first-class cricket, but is highly rated by Steve Smith – the interim captain in Sri Lanka. Smith previously revealed how he pushed for selectors to pick Connolly over older all-rounders like Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh.

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Meanwhile, Labuschagne made some much-needed runs on Thursday night, scoring 77 off 44 balls before the Sri Lanka tour. Out-of-form Test opener Usman Khawaja made 23 off just nine balls, but the Hurricanes chased down the Heat’s total of 201 on the final ball.

“I’m pretty confident, clear on my plans for how I’ll go about it,” Labuschagne said of the upcoming Test series. “So it’s about cleaning that up in Dubai first. You can’t put your finger down on one thing; you need different options because in the subcontinent, you hit one good sweep and there’s two or three guys out there So you trust your defence, trust your sweep and your game and mix it all together.”

The Heat’s loss leaves them at 3-5 and needing to beat Melbourne Renegades on Saturday to have any chance of making the finals. They also need to rely on other results to ensure a finals berth, while the Hurricanes’ (7-1) first-place pursuit remains on track.

with AAP