3 Australian players who might not play 2023 World Cup due to injuries ft. Travis Head
We are now just a few days away from the start of the 2023 World Cup and the excitement is getting stronger with every passing day.
The tournament which will be played in India, will commence on October 5 with the finalists of the previous edition, England and New Zealand locking horns withe each other.
Along with England and India, Australia are one of the favourites to win the championship. The balance, experience and exuberance of their squad, makes them an exciting team, one that fans and pundits are looking forward to watching.
However, the Australian team, much like some of the other sides have a few injury concerns within their squad and that could potentially hamper their progress.
Quite a few of their players missed the recent series against South-Africa and a couple of them picked up injuries whilst on the tour. On that note, here's a look at 3 Australian players who might not play 2023 World Cup due to injuries:
#1 Travis Head
The 29-year old opener, Travis Head could miss the World Cup due to an injury that he sustained in the 4th ODI against South Africa yesterday.
He was hit on his left hand by a fierce short delivery bowled by Gerald Coetzee. At the time, Head carried on but after a while, he had to be checked by the medical staff. Head eventually had to retire hurt and subsequent scans revealed a fracture.
If he is ruled out of the World Cup, it will be a huge blow for the Aussies. Since making a comeback to the ODI setup in 2022, Head has been a prolific run-scorer.
He has created a massive impact at the top of the order as he has has had a strike-rate over 100 in 11 out of the 17 games during this period.
In case he fails to recover in him, Head will be a massive miss for the five-time champions and they could be prompted to move Mitchell Marsh to the top.
#2 Glenn Maxwell
At the moment, it is unclear whether Glenn Maxwell will recover in time for the World Cup. He is currently in a race against time to heal from an ankle injury that he sustained in training recently.
The root of this injury is the bigger one that he suffered last year which left his leg broken. That kept him out of the game for a substantial period of time and has now put his World Cup participation in jeopardy.
Maxwell recently admitted that he needs to be proactive with regard to his workload and recovery. "We've probably just got to be a bit smarter going forward. Making sure that my preparation is a bit more managed", the all-rounder said.
If Maxwell is ruled out of the World Cup, it will be a major blow to Australia's chances of winning the tournament. An out-an-out match winner who can turn games around single-handedly.
With the World Cup set to played in India, his bowling will also be hugely missed in case he fails to make the squad.
#3 Ashton Agar
Ashton Agar has featured in only 2 ODIs this year but he will be an important part of Australia's squad in the quadrennial event considering that the conditions will be spin friendly. However, his participation too, is hanging by a thread.
Agar missed the recent T20 series against South-Africa due to a calf injury. He played the first ODI but had to miss the next three matches due to soreness.
Australia will be in deep trouble if he is deemed unfit for the multi-national tournament there are not too many players who offer the skill-set that he does.
Tanveer Sangha is the only viable option to replace Agar at this point in time but he does not have batting credentials. He is also extremely inexperienced having featured in just one ODI so far.