Australia have named their final squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA with the addition of Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short to the travelling group as reserves ahead of the May 25 deadline. There is no change in the original squad of 15 led by Mitchell Marsh. The Australian T20 squad sans five players, who are currently involved in the IPL 2024 playoffs, will be travelling to Trinidad later this week ahead of the team's two warm-up matches in the island, against Namibia and the co-hosts West Indies.
Jake Fraser-McGurk has had a dreamy last 12 months or so where his stocks as a white-ball batter have risen rapidly. From hitting a 29-ball century in the domestic One-Day Cup to making everyone sit up and take notice of his talent first in the Big Bash League and then the ILT20 and the IPL.
"You look at Jake's form in the IPL – he took that by storm and he was a serious consideration for the final 15," Australia head coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. Short, on the other hand, was the player of the tournament in the BBL and got a nod ahead of injured leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha. "And so was Matthew Short. His BBL form has been outstanding over a long period of time and he's shown glimpses at the international level as well, albeit at times he's had to play a different role."
"We know that he's best suited at the top of the order – and it's probably similar for Jake as well – hence why they haven't been picked in the initial 15. But should anything move, we feel as though both of them could have the flexibility to line up anywhere in that batting order," McDonald added on the squad.
Australia will begin their campaign on June 5 against Oman in Barbados where those five players currently in India for the playoffs of IPL 2024 will link-up with the rest of the squad.
Australia's T20 World Cup squad: 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.
Travelling reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short
