Australia have announced their T20I squad for the upcoming World Cup in October, where the senior players have returned after a break while Jos Inglis has been handed a much deserving call-up. 11 players out of 18 member selected are from IPL.
Australia have finalized their 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in October-November. The Aussie stalwarts – David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins– return after resting from the recent West Indies and Bangladesh tours.
Steve Smith, who a recurring elbow injury has plagued, is also back and is expected to return to his full fitness in time. Captain Aaron Finch is racing against time to recover from knee surgery before the WC to lead the team.
Marcus Stoinis and Kane Richardson, who had also rested from recent tours after returning from the IPL, have been included in the World Cup squad.
The most important selection by Australia is that of Jos Inglis. The wicket-keeper batter has been knocking, the door for a while now and the national call-up was long overdue.
Inglis was preferred ahead of Alex Carey, who has been in awful form, scoring only 57 runs in eight innings across two recent tours.
“Josh has been on our radar for some time with his performances in white ball cricket and more recently in the Vitality Blast where he topped the run charts.
He offers the squad flexibility in the batting order with his adaptability, counter-attacking ability and power striking. He is a player we are excited about for the future.”
chairman of selectors George Bailey said.
Inglis produced a prolific domestic season and followed it up with an outstanding performance for Leicestershire in the Vitality T20 Blast, where he smashed 531 runs at an average of 48.27 at an incredible scoring rate of 175.82. His spin playing ability could be a major difference in the UAE.
Perth Scorchers quick Jhye Richardson, who had opted out of the recent tours after the IPL, hasn’t been picked for the world event. Daniel Sams will travel with the team as a reserve player along with Daniel Christian.
The leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, who was impressive during the India series last year as well as the recent Bangladesh tour, has been picked as their third spinner alongside Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar.
Nathan Ellis, who registered a hattrick on debut against Bangladesh, pipped Andrew Tye, Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson for a pace bowling reserve. The reserve players will only be used if the players from the main squad are unavailable due to injury or illness.
Australia have lost nine out of the last eleven T20I matches as well as the last five bilateral series. However, in the last three series – against New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh – they haven’t been able to play their full-strength team.
“We are confident this squad has the ability to take the side deep into what will be an extremely competitive tournament. We have some of the best players in the world in their respective roles combined with the collective experience to succeed against the very best T20 sides in the world.”
Bailey added.
The team will play a couple of warm-up matches ahead of the Super 12 leg of the WC. Australia will kickstart their World Cup campaign with a game against South Africa on October 23.
