The Australian fast bowling spearhead, Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of the Twenty20 and ODI squads of Australia tour of India with a “substantial” muscle tear, joining fellow quick bowler Josh Hazlewood on the sidelines. The Aussies will lock horns with India for two T20Is and five ODIs scheduled to commence later this month as part of an important build-up to their World Cup title defense in England this year.
Recently, Starc got a man-of-the-match award for scalping 10 wickets in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra this week, will miss the series. Hazlewood has been sidelined as he recovers from a back injury picked up in Australia’s Test series loss to India.
Talking about the same, national selector Trevor Hohns said, “Unfortunately, scans have revealed that Mitchell Starc sustained a substantial tear to his left pec muscle while bowling on the final day of the Test match in Canberra. This means he will be unavailable for the tour of India, but we will instead target a return to play for the ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE in March.”
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Eleven of the 14 players that took on Virat Kohli’s men in a recent ODI series loss in Australia have been retained.
But veteran seamer Peter Siddle, fast bowler Billy Stanlake and allrounder Marsh were dropped, which has opened the door for pacemen Kane Richardson and Nathan Coulter-Nile, and hard-hitting batsman Ashton Turner.
Hohns further elaborated, “Kane has been in outstanding form over the summer, including his recent performances in the Big Bash League. Kane not only has experience playing ODI cricket for Australia, but he’s also performed well for his country when given the opportunity. Nathan Coulter-Nile provides us with another quality bowling option. He brings good energy in the field and can also score runs in high-pressure situations.”
Hohns added that Western Australia’s Turner had been on his radar for some time and he now “has an opportunity to put his case forward ahead of the World Cup”.
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With Hazlewood out, Pat Cummins was named co-vice captain alongside Alex Carey. Aaron Finch will be leading the squad. Opener D’Arcy Short was included as cover for Shaun Marsh as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Short is expected to play in the two T20s with Marsh joining the squad following the birth of his second child.
Talking about the team further, the selector said, “With the World Cup on the horizon, we see the ODI tours of India and the following tour against Pakistan as important windows for the squad to continue their preparations for our title defense. We were really pleased with the progress we made during the recent ODI series against India, and we feel the progress is reflected in the squad selection, with only a couple of changes.”
Australia T20I and ODI squad:
Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa, D’Arcy Short
