Marnus Labuschagne was added in Australia’s 15-man team for the 50-over World Cup in India on Thursday, the very last possible minute, on the strength of his good recent play. In addition, Travis Head, who had been injured earlier in the tournament, was also put in the squad.
Labuschagne had been excluded from the initial selection, but after putting up impressive numbers in South Africa and the one-day series in India, he was asked to rejoin the team.
After fracturing his hand in South Africa, Head is expected to miss the early matches that Australia will play. Despite this, Head was selected for the team in lieu of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, who had been in the preliminary selection of 15 players but was unable to recuperate from a calf injury in time.
“This was a tough call but, unfortunately, we couldn’t carry both Travis and Ashton into the tournament with the injuries they have,” Chair of Selectors George Bailey said in a statement. “We couldn’t carry both Travis and Ashton into the tournament.”
“We have come to the conclusion that it is in everyone’s best interest to carry Travis through the early rounds of the competition with the expectation that he would become available sometime in the middle of the competition.
“He has been a really important player in this ODI team, and we are hopeful that his return can provide a positive impetus as it gets closer to the business end of the tournament.” “We are hopeful that his return can provide a positive impetus as it gets closer to the business end of the tournament.”
As a result of the off-spinner’s career-best performance against India in the third one-day international on Wednesday, Glenn Maxwell is set to be the second spin option for Australia, joining Adam Zampa as a member of the spin bowling attack.
On October 8, the five-time defending champions Australia will open their campaign in Chennai against the country that will be hosting them.
squad members from Australia
Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (captain), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, and Adam Zampa are the members of the Australian cricket team.