Australia have named their provisional 18-man squad for the ICC Men's ODI World Cup set to take place in India later this year. Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped from the line-up, while the duo in Aaron Hardie and Tanveer Sangha have bolted into the squad. The extended 18-man squad will also compete in the ODI series against South Africa and India.
Sangha has previously toured with the national team during their T20I series in New Zealand in February 2021 and is a highly promising leg-spinner. However, he has played only 5 List A games and taken 7 scalps at 30.14. Hardie, meanwhile, a right-handed batter and a seamer, will push to fill the all-rounder's spot, with Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, and Mitchell Marsh also in the mix.
Pat Cummins ruled out for six weeks:
While Cummins will lead the five-time champions in the mega event, he is likely to join the side during the ODI series against South Africa, starting on September 7th due to his wrist injury. With Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Ellis, and Seam Abbott also joining, it makes for a formidable pace-bowling unit.
With 8 more ODIs to go before the World Cup, Chief Selector George Bailey trusts Cummins to get into the groove for the same. He also believes that the squad picked will flourish in the tournament and stated, as quoted by cricket.com.au:
"We view a period of enforced rest for Pat as a positive ahead of this important World Cup campaign. There are still a number of games he could play before the World Cup which is more than enough for him to have a strong preparation. This side has been extremely impressive for several years in limited-overs cricket. There is an enormous amount of skill and experience in the group, which you need in a World Cup."
The squad will be whittled down to 15 by September 28th. According to the initial World Cup schedule, the Men in Yellow will open their campaign against India on October 8th in Chennai.
Australia's preliminary squad for the 2023 World Cup and the ODI series against India and South Africa:
Australia's 18-man squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
