Australia announce squad for T20I series against New Zealand, Men’s T20 Player of the Year omitted

Australia have introduced a full-strength 15-member T20I squad for the three-match series against New Zealand with star allrounder Mitchell Marsh set to guide as the countdown to the T20 World Cup begins.

ODI and Test skipper Pat Cummins, tempo spearhead Mitchell Starc, Travis Head and Steven Smith have been added to the squad after they have been rested for the forthcoming three-match T20I series against West Indies at residence.

The inclusion of Starc and Cummins has come at the expense of Jason Behrendorff and bowling allrounder Sean Abbott. Behrendorff’s exclusion is a shocking one as the left-arm speedster was lately declared Australia’s Men’s T20 Player of the Year at the Australian Cricket Awards Ceremony.

On the different hand, although the selectors haven’t confirmed whether or not Marsh will lead the facet at the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, he’s the frontrunner for the position and can most definitely be seen marshalling the troops throughout the T20 carnival.

The chairman of the National Selection Panel, George Bailey, talked about that the series against the Men in Maroon and the Blackcaps will give readability as to what Australia’s T20 World Cup squad would appear to be.

“The next six games will provide us the opportunity to start shaping what we think our World Cup squad will look like and potential roles within that,” Bailey was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.au.

“We will also fully utilise the opportunity to monitor and watch the performances of the Australian players in the IPL immediately preceding the World Cup.”

Meanwhile, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 might change into the swansong for a quantity of Aussie gamers together with David Warner and Matthew Wade. While Warner has already retired from Tests and ODIs, Wade can also be in the twilight of his profession.

Australia’s T20I squad for the New Zealand series:

Mitchell Marsh (c), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa