Marnus Labuschagne and Tim Paine
Australia need to emulate India in creating depth in the squad so that top players can be rested and kept fresh, says Test skipper Tim Paine.
India's top cricketers already in England for the WTC final and the subsequent England series but the country announced another 20-man squad, filled with several youngsters, for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Australia are facing the prospect of its top cricketers opting out of upcoming tour of the West Indies.
Paine feels Australia needs to have youngsters who can step up at the international level, taking the load off senior players.
"It's important now we build depth in our squad so we can cover it. Ideally we don't have guys pulling out of tours but guys who are rested for a reason and we can plan ahead," Paine was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald.'
"We're seeing that with India at the moment. They’re getting the balance absolutely spot on because they’ve got a real depth of talent who can step up and play Test cricket.
"We need to get to that stage so we can rest our best players so we can make sure when we’ve got them on the park they’re fresh and playing at their best," Paine added.
Australian cricketers spent 14-days in quarantine in Sydney before reuniting with their families after the Indian Premier League was suspended last month.
They are again gearing up for limited-overs tour of the West Indies and unconfirmed T20 tour of Bangladesh.
The postponed IPL is set to resume in the UAE during September followed by the T20 World Cup during October and early November after which the players from Down Under will have to quarantine upon returning home.
Australia then play a Test against Afghanistan in late November followed by the Ashes series starting December 8.
According to a media report, Steve Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell Marcus Stoinis, Jhye Richardson and Kane Richardson are all expected to miss the West Indies tour.
Paine said those players need support instead of criticism.
"It's certainly an issue, there's no doubt about that. Whether it's seven who are going to pull out, I'm not across all that, but it's certainly going to be one of the challenges of the modern-day player.
"I've seen some past players and commentators comment on it and I think it's a little unfair. Unless you're put in their shoes travelling away and coming back and having to do two weeks [hotel quarantine] either side, it can be quite draining.
"In our set-up in particular we’ve got guys who have done that six or seven times. That’s 14 or 15 weeks out of a year sitting in a hotel room by yourself on top of any really busy schedule," Paine said.
