Big News: Australia announce Mitchell Marsh-led T20 World Cup squad, Steve Smith, 29-ball centurion miss out of 15-member fold

Australia have finally announced their provisional T20 World Cup 2024 squad which will be led by Mitchell Marsh. The Australian selectors made some unexpected choices for their T20 World Cup squad, leaving out some established players. These surprise omissions include seasoned batsman Steve Smith, rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk, pace bowler Jason Behrendorff, and all-rounder Matt Short.

The squad does see the return of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, who hasn't played a T20 international since the previous World Cup held in Australia. All-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green, despite mixed performances in the IPL, also secured spots in the final team. Mitchell Marsh will lead the Australian charge as captain. Jake Fraser-McGurk, who broke AB de Villiers' record for the fastest century in a List A game, also couldn't make it to the coveted squad despite his good show with the bat for Delhi Capitals in the ongoing IPL 2024. He has amassed 259 runs in a total of six matches with an astonishing strike rate of 233.

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Backing his team, selection chief George Bailey expressed his faith in Australia's well-balanced squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, expecting a powerful performance.

“This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," Bailey said, as quoted by ICC.

 

"It’s great to have Ashton Agar back into the squad following a spate of unfortunate and untimely injuries. We believe Ashton can play a critical role in this tournament along with Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cam Green and Mitch Marsh in complementing our front-line attack options. The batting options available allow a tailored approach to each venue and opponent,” he added.

 

Australia kicks off their T20 World Cup journey against Oman on June 5th in Barbados. They'll then face off against England, Namibia, and Scotland in Group B.

 

Big names missing

With only 15 spots available, Bailey acknowledged that some deserving players in good form couldn't be included in the final squad.

 

“Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly," Bailey further said.

 

“Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover. We will continue monitoring several players who have missed out on this preliminary squad and note that if we need to change this squad, we have the option to do so over the coming month in accordance with ICC regulations. Ultimately the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign,” he concluded.

 

Australia's full squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

 

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