Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have been named in a spin-friendly 15-man provisional Australian squad for this year’s Twenty20 World Cup, despite injuries affecting their recent Ashes campaign.
Test skipper Cummins featured in only one of the five Ashes Tests against England in Adelaide, as he continues to recover from a lower back issue, while Hazlewood missed the entire series due to an Achilles injury.
Cummins is scheduled for another back scan later this month to determine his fitness for the tournament, which begins on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka. Hazlewood and big-hitter Tim David (hamstring) are also on the comeback trail but are expected to be ready.
“Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David are tracking well, and we are confident they will be available for the World Cup,” said chief selector George Bailey. He added that this is a preliminary squad and changes could be made ahead of the support period.
Left-arm spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly are new additions alongside experienced tweaker Adam Zampa and part-timer Glenn Maxwell. Australia’s group-stage matches will be played in Sri Lanka, where spin-friendly pitches are expected.
In a surprise move, the selectors chose no backup wicketkeeper for Josh Inglis and no left-arm pace replacement for Mitchell Starc, who has retired from T20 internationals. The fast-bowling attack will be led by Cummins and Hazlewood, supported by Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis.
Australia will open their tournament campaign against Ireland on February 11 in Colombo. A separate squad will be named for a T20 series against Pakistan preceding the World Cup.
Provisional Squad: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
