No Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood for Australia tour of Pakistan and Bangladesh
Australia rested Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for the upcoming white-ball tour of Pakistan and Bangladesh to manage workloads ahead of future Tests and the T20 World Cup. Mitchell Marsh will captain a squad featuring several young players, including Ollie Peake and Liam Scott. Glenn Maxwell was dropped from the Bangladesh T20 squad as Australia continue testing fresh talent and squad depth.
Australia have decided to rest their top fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for the upcoming white-ball tour of Pakistan and Bangladesh. The selectors instead picked several young and less experienced players as the team continues preparing for next year’s T20 World Cup. Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia during the entire tour, which begins with a three-match ODI series against Pakistan on May 30.
Young players Ollie Peake, who recently captained Australia’s Under-19 World Cup side, and uncapped all-rounder Liam Scott have earned call-ups. Riley Meredith and Billy Stanlake have also returned to the squad. Senior all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been left out of the T20 squad for the Bangladesh series, while young batter Joel Davies received his first call-up.
The absence of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood is mainly due to workload management. All three bowlers recently returned from injuries during the IPL and are now focusing on preparing for Australia’s upcoming two-Test home series against Bangladesh later this year. Several Australian players may also miss the Pakistan ODIs because of IPL playoff commitments.
The IPL final is scheduled for May 31, which clashes with the tour. Players like Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis are expected to join the squad later in Bangladesh once their IPL campaigns finish. Matthew Short remains part of the Pakistan ODI squad but will not travel to Bangladesh.