Srinagar: Australia are yet to recover fully from the multiple injury blows ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, as staf duo of Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have been ruled out of first ODI against India.
The three match ODI series begins from September 22 in Mohali. Though there is big news for Australia as skipper Pat Cummins has recovered from the injury and Steve Smith is also likely to feature.
All three players along with Steve Smith missed the tour of South Africa due to injuries sustained in the Ashes earlier this year.
“We have got plenty of people at different stages. I am feeling pretty good, my wrist is all healed now, 100 percent. I was running around at the nets, this afternoon. I hope to play tomorrow. Hoping to play all 3 games,” Cummins said.
“Trying to think of a long list. Starc is here, (but) he won’t play tomorrow. But hopefully, he will be available later on the series. Yeah, he won’t play tomorrow. But I hope he will come on and play a part later on. He had been bowling in Sydney. He will bowl today or tomorrow. We are all tracking him. The time frame is similar for Maxwell,” he added.
Meanwhile, Cummins said the 3-match ODI series against India will give the former champions an opportunity to figure out their combination, including the need for a second spinner. However, Cummins said he wanted to make sure that his players are fresh for the World Cup campaign.
“We need to get used to these conditions, hopefully winning some. But also, we don’t want to get to that first game being cooked. No doubt, we will try a few different combinations, a few different players will be tried,” he added.
“But hopefully, we will structure our team similar to how we will play (At the World Cup). So, batters batting at their positions, as a captain I want to get used to how you use your bowlers here, may be different to say South Africa or back in Australia. Does the second spin play a part? Hopefully, we will get some answers in the next few games,” he added.
Australia ODI squad for India series
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa