Mitchell Marsh to lead Australia A squad for four day matches in India
Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia A team during a tour of India in September while Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja and Matthew Renshaw have been called up as well. Players like Glenn Maxwell and Shaun Marsh, who were part of Australia's last Test in South Africa have been overlooked.
Australian selectors have put faith in the hands of the experienced Mitchell Marsh who will lead a strong Australian squad for the two-match schedule in Vizag after the 26-year-old is seen as a contender to become Test skipper Tim Paine's deputy and can also be a candidate for the permanent ODI captaincy. Wicketkeeper has been Alex Carey named his as the vice-captain of the squad. In an interesting call, Joe Burns, Glenn Maxwell, and Shaun Marsh, who were part of Australia's last Test in South Africa, are not included in the squad.
Travis Head, the South Australian captain will lead the one-day team that will compete in a tri-series against India A and South Africa A in Vijayawada. Brendan Doggett and Marnus Labuschagne are the only uncapped players in the 28 cricketers named across the squads.
Expressing his happiness over the selection, Australia's chief selector Trevor Hohns revealed how pleased he was with the squads they have assembled for this tour.
"We've got a couple of really experienced international cricketers, a large group who have had a taste of playing for Australia already, and some emerging players who have performed strongly and we believe have the potential to one day play for their country,” he said, as reported by Cricbuzz.
"It's an extremely important tour, as we look for players who can adapt and find ways to excel in sub-continent conditions. With Australia's series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates fast approaching, it's a chance for some players to push for selection for that series, and for all players to gain experience in sub-continent conditions."
Hohns also mentioned that the tour was an ideal opportunity to test the leadership of Marsh, Head, and Carey.
"We're looking for leaders for future Australian teams, and Travis, Mitch, and Alex are all very impressive young men. Travis and Mitch both have captaincy experience at the state level, and this is an exciting opportunity for them to lead a new group of players in different conditions. Alex, as our Twenty20 vice-captain in the UK and Zimbabwe, is also someone we rate very highly as a leader, and this is another opportunity for him to develop those skills," he concluded.
Australia A four-day squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Alex Carey (
Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Alex Carey (
Australia A's One-Day matches - Vijayawada
17 August - v India A
19 August - v South Africa A
23 August - v India A
25 August - v South Africa A
29 August - Tri-Series Final
Australia A's Four-Day matches - Vizag
2 - 5 September - v India A
8 - 11 September - v India A
