Jake Fraser-McGurk set to be named among Australia's travelling reserves for 2024 T20 World Cup
Emerging opener Jake Fraser-McGurk will be part of Australia's 2024 T20 World Cup squad as a travelling reserve along with Matt Short. The youngster had narrowly missed out on the initial squad of 15 members despite a blockbuster maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with the Delhi Capitals (DC).
With Australia having a plethora of options in their top order in the form of David Warner, Travis Head, and skipper Mitchell Marsh himself, Fraser-McGurk has to be content as a reserve player.
Chairman of selectors, George Bailey, had earlier hinted that only one travelling reserve might be named. However, Fraser-McGurk makes the cut as the second player to increase the squad members to 17.
Another key decision that the Men in Yellow had to make, was regarding the third spinner. Since surfaces in the Caribbean are expected to be slow, spin is expected to play a huge role. The current squad includes Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, while Glenn Maxwell is also well capable of rolling his arm over.
Australia had included Tanveer Sangha as a traveling reserve for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Back then, they only had Adam Zampa as a frontline spinner, with the side relying on Glenn Maxwell as the second spinner in subcontinent conditions.
However, Sangha is currently managing a hip flexor injury, so he was not in contention to be a traveling reserve even if Australia wanted an extra spinner on the sidelines.
Australia squad set to fly out to the Caribbean on May 23
Australia's contingent, devoid of members involved in the IPL playoffs, will fly out to Trinidad for a training camp on Thursday, May 23. The Men in Yellow are scheduled to play a couple of practice matches against Namibia and the West Indies on May 28 and 30 respectively.
According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, skipper Mitchell Marsh, who left the Delhi Capitals camp midway due to injury, has also recovered, but is yet to bowl.
Australia's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Adam Zampa.