Australia announce 14-man squad for India ODIs: Details here
Australia have announced a 14-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against India next month. Aaron Finch is set to lead the side which has seven changes from the ICC World Cup 2019 squad. Marnus Labuschagne, who has been on a supreme run in Tests this year, is in line to make his ODI debut. Here are the details.
A look at Australia's 14-man ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Meanwhile, coach Justin Langer is set to take a rest and assistant coach Andrew McDonald is set to take over as head coach for the series.
Chief national selector Trevor Hohns said, "The performance of the top order at home through the T20 series [against Sri Lanka and Pakistan] was very strong, so we look for that to continue in the Indian ODI series." "We also believe Marnus Labuschagne is ready for his international white-ball debut after his strong form for Queensland in this form of the game," he added,
The 25-year-old Labuschagne is the only batsman in 2019 to smash 1,000-plus runs in Tests. He has amassed a total of 1,022 runs at an average of 68.13. The next best is Steve Smith (873). In 2019, Labuschagne has nine fifty-plus scores (3 tons and 6 fifties). He has scored the most fours in Tests (123). Interestingly, he has only hit one six.
Glenn Maxwell, who took a break from cricket for mental health reasons, recently made himself available. He is set to feature in this year's Big Bash League (BBL), which is set to start from December 17 onwards. He will also be a part of the IPL 2020 auction. However, he found no place in the national side for the India tour.
Australia have a solid batting line-up and the addition of Labuschagne makes things interesting. David Warner, who has been brilliant in white-ball cricket of late, will be the key man. The bowling sees three premier names in the form of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Team India is currently up against the West Indies. They need to be wary of Australia's threats.
Meanwhile, the seven players who were part of the World Cup squad but haven't been selected are Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Lyon. Pacer Jason Behrendorff is unavailable due to injury.
This will be Australia's first ODI series since the 2019 World Cup. The Aussies will take on India in three ODIs to be held in Mumbai, Rajkot and Bengaluru on January 14, 17 and 19 respectively.
