Mitchell Marsh sidelined against Zimbabwe and New Zealand with ankle issues, expected to return for India tour

08/30/2022

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Mitchell Marsh has flown back home from Queensland after hurting his ankle during the first game against Zimbabwe and will miss the upcoming series against New Zealand. He will likely be back for the three T20Is in India, with Steven Smith revealing there are big plans for him for the World T20.

Australia managed to comfortably overhaul Zimbabwe by five wickets in the first of three ODIs in Townsville, Queensland but suffered a major injury setback in the process. Ace all-rounder Mitchell Marsh complained of ankle soreness after the game and has now been confirmed by Cricket Australia to miss the remainder of the series, as well as the three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting next week. Nevertheless, he did play an important role in the game, scalping the first wicket of the match and ending up with figures of 6-0-22-1 even though he lasted only three balls in the second innings.

Wicket-keeper batsman Josh Inglis has been called up from The Hundred as Marsh's replacement for all five games. The all-rounder meanwhile has flown back to his hometown of Perth to recover and is expected to be fit to play by the time Australia travel to India for three T20Is in mid-to-late September.

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Marsh was at the heart of Australia's success in the World T20 last year. Entering the tournament in ungodly form, the 30-year-old scored two half-centuries in the event including a man-of-the-match performance in the final. His unbeaten 77 off 50 deliveries had helped Australia chase down a commendable 173 and clinch their first-ever World Cup in the game's shortest format. With the upcoming edition in October set to be played Down Under, the younger of the Marsh brothers will be expected to play a big role given he thrives on home soil.

"He's been playing some good white-ball cricket recently. The way we set up our team the other day with bulk all-rounders, he was a big part of that. It's disappointing for Mitch but there's some pretty important stuff coming up. He was a big part of our T20 World Cup campaign last year and I'm sure there's big plans for him this year. The priority is to get him right for that," former Australian skipper Steven Smith told reporters on Tuesday as per Cricbuzz.

Australia meanwhile are scheduled to play the second ODI against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.