With the T20 World Cup 2024 set to begin from June 1 in the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies, majority of teams have already reached the venue. All teams will first feature in warm-up fixtures and ahead of it, the Mitchell Marsh-led Australian cricket team is amidst some trouble.
Recently, their T20I skipper, Marsh, who left IPL 2024 midway after suffering an injury said that they are facing shortage of players and might be forced to use support staff as substitute fielders in the warm-up games. “We are going to be undermanned. But it is a practice game. The guys who need to play will play as much as they can and we’ll figure it out from there,” Marsh told cricket.com.au.
Moreover, this confirmation from the Aussie all-rounder comes after the conclusion of the IPL 2024, which had three of their players involved in it. Furthermore, Marsh is also not certain to play against Namibia as he is recovering from a hamstring injury which he sustained during the IPL 2024.
Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc to miss Australia’s warm-up matches in T20 World Cup 2024
Pat Cummins, who led the SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, along with his teammate Travis Head and the KKR speedster Mitchell Starc will head back to Australia for a short break. Besides the trio, Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell, who were part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will altogether join the side by the end of this week in Barbados.
Furthermore, Marcus Stoinis is expected to arrive in Trinidad after the warm-up match against Namibia. Travelling reserves in Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short will also join the side after Australia’s first match in the T20 World Cup 2024, where they are set to play against Oman on June 5.
“It’s important to be flexible. Guys who have been at the IPL have been playing a lot of cricket. We prioritised giving them a couple of days at home to see their families, refresh, and play the long game for this tournament,” he told cricket.com.au. “We will get our 15 eventually, but really important that we give them a break, even if it’s just a couple of days at home, that’s really important,” he further added.