The Australian team's ICC World Cup 2023 campaign has suffered a major setback with in-form all-rounder Mitch Marsh flying back home for personal reasons.
Marsh flew home from India on Thursday due to personal reasons and Cricket Australia said that 'a timeline of his return to the squad is to be confirmed'. Marcus Stoinis though gave some insight into the matter, sharing his conversation with Marsh after his departure.
"He sent me a message last night saying, 'I'll be home for a little bit and then I'm coming back to win this World Cup' so that speaks to his mindset I think. You miss him off the field – in terms of his energy and his personality around the team as much as we're going to miss him on the field – but you can pretty much see how the team’s going to line-up (without him)."
Australia's already lost fellow all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for Saturday's clash against England due to concussion after an injury on a golf course, and the absence of Marsh adds further intrigue as the five-time World Cup champions chase a place in the knockout stages of the tournament. They're currently ranked third in the points table with two more of their matches left in the league stage.
Squad members Alex Carey, Sean Abbott, Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green will come into contention to replace Maxwell and Marsh for the match with England, while spinner Tanveer Sangha is travelling with the team as a reserve.
Australia does have the option of replacing Marsh should the all-rounder miss the remainder of the tournament, but all replacement players need to be approved by the Event Technical Committee.
Marsh has a total of 225 runs and two wickets to his name at the World Cup thus far, with his best effort with the bat coming against Pakistan in Bengaluru when he smashed a brilliant 121.
Australia will next play their Ashes rivals England on Saturday at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
(With inputs from IANS)
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