Vaibhav Tripathi
Australia have announced Marnus Labuschagne as a replacement for the injured Ashton Agar for the upcoming World Cup to be held in India. Meanwhile, Travis Head, who has been laid low by a wrist injury, was retained. Australia finalized their squad just before the ICC deadline for changes, which was set for Thursday.
George Bailey, the chief selector, acknowledged the difficulty of the decision and stated, “This was a tough call but unfortunately, we couldn’t carry both Travis and Ashton into the tournament with the injuries they have. With a focused rehabilitation block, we are hopeful Ashton can become available as a possible replacement player near the mid-way part of the tournament, should this be required.”
Bailey also mentioned their strategy for Head, noting, “We have made the decision to carry Travis through the early stages with the aim of him being available around the mid-part of the tournament. He has been a really important player in this ODI team, and we are hopeful his return can provide a positive impetus as it gets to the business end of the tournament.”
Agar has been battling calf issues for a considerable period. He initially suffered a minor calf tear during practice with Western Australia before the tour of South Africa. While he briefly returned for the ODI series, he was eventually withdrawn after the first match due to calf soreness.
Labuschagne, initially dropped from the preliminary squad, made an impressive comeback. He amassed 421 runs with an average of 60.14 and a strike rate of 97.67 across eight games against South Africa and India.
Australia’s World Cup Squad:
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.