Where is Australian cricket headed?
If anything, the announcement of the ODI squad by the Australian cricket board for the upcoming limited overs series against India only exemplifies the state of turbulence Australian cricket is in.
Travis Head, Ashton Agar, D'Arcy Short, and Chris Lynn have been dropped from the squad. While Nathan Lyon's inclusion at the expense of Agar seems justified as he is one of the top off-spinners going around, the other players can feel unfortunate to be dropped.
Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb have been drafted into the squad in their place. Such drastic changes right before the World Cup is something Australia has never done. Massive uncertainty remains about the roundup of the squad every time it is named.
Kevin Roberts, CEO Cricket Australia, said that it would be wise of the selectors to question themselves on which parameters they are selecting the team. Marnus Labuschagne, a player who impressed one and all, most importantly, coach Justin Langer, has not been able to perform to the standards expected of him. Yes, he has been sharp on the field, but with a dismal average of 28 in the ongoing Sheffield Shield, promoting him to the number 3 spot for the last test was a shocker.
Talks before the match circled about him being able to contribute as a part-time spinner, having picked up a few crucial wickets on the UAE tour earlier. But he failed to justify it, instead, going at an economy of over 4 runs an over.
Matthew Wade and Joe Burns, who have been consistently piling on the runs this ongoing season, have been ignored just as consistently as they are scoring, This again reflects reluctance on the selector's part to pick players who previously failed to grab chances.
Peter Siddle's recall though, is rightly justified, given his brilliant performances in the T20s of late, while also adding some much-needed experience to the squad.
If it was potential they wanted to give importance to, they could have added Hobart Hurricanes' Riley Meredith, who has been spitting venoms with the white ball in hand during the ongoing BBL. Any good squad has a bolter, but making so many changes so often will only come back to haunt them.