With Australia announcing their provisional 15-member World Cup squad on Tuesday, fans were worried about injuries of its star players.
Captain Pat Cummins who is recovering from a fracture on his non-bowling hand, right-handed batsman Steve Smith who hurt his wrist, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell who is battling an ankle injury and pace bowler Mitchell Starc who suffered a groin strain are among the provisional 15.
All four players who were part of Australia's 2019 squad have one months to get fit for the tournament. "All are well placed to come back online in the coming weeks and potentially for selection in the upcoming series against India," PTI quoted selection chief George Bailey as saying.
"There are eight one-day matches still to play in South Africa and India before the final squad is due to be declared. They are followed by two World Cup practice games, which offers plenty of opportunity to continue the build for the tournament," he added.
Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner and Adam Zampa who played in 2019 ODI World Cup, will also appear in the 2023 edition. Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh will play for the first time in ODI World Cup representing the five-time champions.
Defending champions England who beat New Zealand in the previous edition will lock horns with the Kiwis in the opening match on October 5. Both the first and final matches will be played in Ahmedabad.
Check out Australia's provisional squad below:
Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc.
India, England and South Africa have also announced their squads. Other teams were yet to announce their players when this report was published. Indian squad includes Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. Read more about Indian players who missed out the tournament HERE.
English squad includes Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes.
South Africa squad includes Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi and Rassie van der Dussen.
– with inputs from PTI
