Cricket Australia on Monday announced the addition of big-hitting all-rounder, D'Arcy Short, in the 15-man squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against India in starting on January 2020.
D'Arcy Short will replace fast bowler Sean Abbott in the squad who suffered a side strain injury during the Australia T20 League match for Sydney Sixers. He is expected to be out of action for three-four weeks.
Announcing the replacement, chief selector Trevor Hohns said it is unfortunate to lose Sean Abbot who is very much part of Australia's white-ball plans.
“It is extremely unfortunate for Sean, who is very much a part of our white-ball squad plans leading into the ICC T20 World Cup and the World Cup”, he said.
Hohns further said that the explosive batsman D’Arcy will provide an extra bowling option as he is a handy leg-spinner.
“D’Arcy offers the squad another spinning all-rounder option along with Ashton Agar, which, along with the four world-class fast bowlers and Adam Zampa, balances the squad out nicely. His proven record and ability to bat anywhere in the order will also be a great asset to the squad,” he added.
Short has played four ODIs for Australia, his last outing for Australia was against South Africa in November 2018.
The opener has scored 83 runs at an average of 26.66. Short is most likely to bat in the middle order as the management wouldn’t want to tinker with the successful opening pair- Warner and Finch.
The India tour will commence on January 14 with the first ODI in Mumbai. The second and third ODIs will be held in Rajkot and Bangalore on January 17 and January 19, respectively.
Updated Australia’s ODI Squad: Aaron Finch (C), D'Arcy Short, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (Wk), Pat Cummins , Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
