Cricket Australia has named a 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup in India to be led by star pacer Patrick Cummins. The major highlight of the squad is that there is no place for Marnus Labuschagne, who is arguably the backbone of the team's batting in Test cricket alongside Steven Smith. The team is fairly all-rounder-heavy as it features the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott and Ashton Agar.
Labuschagne is going to feature in the upcoming five-match ODI series against South Africa and would like to put up a string of impressive performances to prove the selectors wrong. However, teams still have time till September 28 to make changes to their squad in case there is an injury to a player among others. Cummins will be leading the squad and will have his fellow pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc to back him up in the Indian subcontinent.
The presence of top-quality all-round options gives the Aussies a menacing look. From spin-bowling all-round options like Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar to pace-bowling allrounders like Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green, the Aussies have a lot of variety in their squad and it will give them a lot of flexibility once the tournament gets underway starting October 5.
The five-time world champions have two wicket-keeping options in the form of Josh Inglis and Alex Carey and it is most likely that the team will trust Carey with the wicket-keeping gloves as he has done lately in the role. After battling against the Proteas in a five-match ODI series starting September 7, Australia will fly to India to play a three-match ODI series and will start their World Cup campaign against the Men in Blue in Chennai on October 8.
Australia's World Cup 2023 squad:
Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
