Cricket Australia has confirmed its squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup, with Jake Fraser-McGurk headlining the group of unselected players.
Captained by all-rounder Mitch Marsh, the squad will not include the likes of Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson or Xavier Bartlett.
The surprising decision not to select Fraser-McGurk comes after he has produced a plethora of magnificent performances in the IPL over the past few weeks, including scoring 84 from just 27 deliveries and a blistering strike rate of over 200.
Cameron Green will retain his place in the squad despite struggling in the IPL, while Australia have decided to go with two wicket-keepers in Josh Inglis and Matthew Wade.
Chair of Selectors George Bailey acknowledged some of the omissions in a statement after naming the 15-man World Cup squad.
"Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly," Bailey said.
โBeing constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we'd like to cover.
โWe will continue monitoring several players who have missed out on this preliminary squad and note that if we wish to change this squad, we have the option to do so over the coming weeks in accordance with ICC regulations.
โUltimately the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign.โ
Australia T20 World Cup Squad
Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green, Matt Wade, Josh Inglis, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Ellis, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa.
