Australia announce star-studded squad for T20 WC; Inglis earns maiden call-up
Cricket Australia announced their 15-man squad for the T20 WC, which is scheduled to start from October 17 in the UAE. All the stars who were missing from action against West Indies and Bangladesh have returned to the squad, which also features a shock call-up for uncapped gloveman Josh Inglis.
Australia, on Thursday, announced a star-studded squad for their T20 World Cup campaign. The side marks the return of stalwarts like Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins, which will add firepower to the unit. The selectors surprised one and all by picking uncapped Josh Inglis ahead of Alex Carey, who's dubbed as Australia's future skipper and had also led the side in the ODI series against the Windies. Inglis had recently finished the group stages of the Vitality T20 Blast in England as the competition's leading run-scorer, making everyone take notice of his extravagant abilities.
Reflecting on the selection of Inglis in the T20 WC squad, the Chairman of selectors, George Bailey stated that he will offer more flexibility to the batting squad with his batting technique.
"We have some of the best players in the world in their respective roles combined with the collective experience to succeed against the very best T20 sides in the world. Josh has been on our radar for some time with his performances in white ball cricket and more recently in the Vitality Blast where he topped the run charts. He offers the squad flexibility in the batting order with his adaptability, counter attacking ability and power striking. He is a player we are excited about for the future," stated George Bailey.
The selectors opted for three specialist spin options in the team with Mitchell Swepson joining Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar in the 15-man squad. Zampa has been Australia’s top T20I wicket-taker since the last T20 World Cup, with Agar not far behind. Swepson benefited from his brilliant performances in West Indies and Bangladesh. George Bailey feels the spin-friendly and slowish pitches in UAE will benefit the spinners.
"Mitchell has been impressive with the opportunities he has had. Given the amount of cricket being played at the World Cup venues, we expect the wickets in the UAE to favour slow bowling, particularly in the latter stages, so he gives us another strong leg-spin option."
As far as pace bowling is concerned - Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Kane Richardson made the final cut to the squad. The Men in Yellow have three quality all-rounders in the form of Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. The trio of Dan Christian, Daniel Sams, and Nathan Ellis will travel with the side as reserves. Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye and Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Moises Henriques, Josh Philippe and Ashton Turner are the most notable players, who missed out on the squad.
The Aussies will take on South Africa on October 23 to kick off their campaign in the ICC mega event.
T20 World Cup Squad: Aaron Finch (C), Pat Cummins (VC), Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Swepson
Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Daniel Sams, Nathan Ellis
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