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Cricket Australia announced the 18-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa and India , ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. On e of the biggest omissions from the Australian team was Marnus Labuschagne, who has been one of the best batters for the country in the longest format of the game in recent years.
The preliminary 18-man squad for the ODI World Cup, which will be trimmed by CA to 15 in early September, have new inclusions, including Tanveer Sangha, who is a leg spinner from New South Wales, and Aaron Hardie, who is the allrounder from Western Australia. It has been reported that the final changes in the team can be made by September 28, just a week before the quadrennial event kicks off in India.
Also Read: 3 Players who missed a place in Australia's ODI World Cup 2023 squad
Now the question arises, why was Marnus Labuschagne dropped from Australia's ODI World Cup squad? The reason is the lack of consistent scores from the batter in 50-overs cricket, with a substandard strike rate, since he made his international debut in the format against India at the Wankhede Stadium on January 14, 2020.
He has played 30 ODIs for Australia in the last three years, scoring 847 runs at an average of 31.37 and a strike rate of 83.20, which isn’t par for the course in the format, especially from one of the top batters in the world. His numbers in the one-day cricket have gone downwards since the pandemic struck in 2020 for the first time.
Furthermore, with Steve Smith fulfilling the role of one of the run accumulators in the ODI format, the chances for Marnus Labuschagne making the preliminary squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup were already slim. But, since the Australian selectors recognised the dwindling numbers for the batter in the 50-overs cricket, they decided to leave him out in favour of young players who could make a big impact when called upon in the playing XI in the next few months.