Late change in Australia's World Cup squad sees Marnus Labuschagne included in place of Ashton Agar; Travis Head retained despite a broken hand; India add Ravichandran Ashwin to their group - watch the tournament live on Sky Sports between October 5 and November 19
Thursday 28 September 2023 18:24, UK
Marnus Labuschagne has been added to Australia’s final World Cup squad after spinner Ashton Agar was ruled out due to a calf concern.
Labuschagne was left out of the preliminary squad but after coming on as a substitute during Australia’s ODI matches against South Africa and India, he impressed selectors with his form, contributing one century and two fifties.
Opening batter Travis Head was also named in the 15-man squad despite having a broken hand which is expected to rule him out of the start of the tournament.
"This was a tough call but unfortunately, we couldn't carry both Travis and Ashton into the tournament with the injuries they have,” said Cricket Australia chair of selectors George Bailey.
"We have made the decision to carry Travis through the early stages with the aim of him being available around the mid-part of the tournament.
"He has been a really important player in this ODI team and we are hopeful his return can provide a positive impetus as it gets to the business end of the tournament."
All countries taking part in the World Cup had to submit their final squads by September 28.
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
Hosts India have also made a late change to their World Cup squad after spinner Axar Patel failed to recover in time after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during the Asia Cup.
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named as the replacement and made a strong return to ODI cricket in the recent series against Australia picking up four wickets in two games.
India now head into the tournament with a strong squad as KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah have all made successful comebacks from long-term injuries.
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Watch the Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports between October 5 and November 19. You can also stream the tournament plus more top sport with NOW for £21 a month for six months
