The Australian selectors went full throttle in naming a strong 16-man squad for the ODI series against India that begins on March 17th in Mumbai. While injured Glenn Maxwell makes his long-awaited return to the ODI team, Mitchell Marsh and seamer Jhye Richardson have also been named. Captain Pat Cummins would lead from the front, whereas, Josh Hazlewood is left out on precautionary grounds keeping in mind the upcoming Ashes in England, Aussie chief selector George Bailey said. Other than the white-ball regulars, veteran opener David Warner and Ashton Agar – both of whom flew home mid-way into the Border-Gavaskar series, have also been named.
“It would be great for Josh to be part of this series but we have taken a conservative view ahead of a very important winter in England of which he will be an integral part,” Cricket Australia’s chief selector George Bailey said.
As Australia suffered enough wraths for their below-par performance in the two Tests played so far, compensating in the 50-over format given this is the World Cup year, could be the way forward. Sounding confident in preparing the players for the mega event later this year in India only, Bailey was happy to have some of the match-winners in Maxwell and Marsh back in the squad.
While stylish all-rounder Maxwell suffered a freak injury in November last year that kept him out of action since, Mitchell Marsh also didn’t play for the Aussies following undergoing an ankle surgery in the same month. Out-of-favour fast bowler Richardson had also spent lengthy time on the sidelines since playing his last international game in Sri Lanka in 2022. Having missed more matches than he had played, this India ODIs could give him a good chance to get back into the groove.
“With the World Cup just over seven months away, these matches in India are an important step in our preparation,” Bailey said. “Glenn, Mitchell and Jhye are all important players in what we think the squad might look like come October.”
While Mumbai (17th) will host the first One-Dayer, Vizag (19th) and Chennai (22nd) will host the remaining two games.
Here’s Australia’s 16-man squad for India ODIs –
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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