Australia captain Pat Cummins is hopeful of playing in all three one-day internationals against India on his return from a wrist injury but confirmed fast bowler Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will miss today’s series opener in Mohali.
Starc has been recovering from a groin injury sustained during the Ashes series in England, while Maxwell will join the squad today having recovered from an ankle injury.
“My wrist is all healed now ... hoping to play all three games,” Cummins said on Thursday before the start of their final warm-up series before the World Cup in India starting on Oct. 5.
Batting mainstay Steve Smith is also set to return from a wrist injury but opener Travis Head has been ruled out with a fractured hand that makes him doubtful for the World Cup.
“We want to strike the balance between getting used to these conditions, hopefully winning some games, but we also don’t want to get to that first (World Cup) game and already be cooked,” Cummins said.
“No doubt we’ll be trying a few different combinations, a few different players will get a chance but ideally we’d like to structure up pretty closely to how we’ll play in the World Cup.”
Marcus Stoinis shared the new ball on the recent tour of South Africa and Australia have two more pace-bowling all-rounder options in Cameron Green and Sean Abbott. “You need five bowlers, so the more all-rounders you have you can really bolster your batting,” Cummins said.
“It gives us flexibility to pick four genuine bowlers or maybe three bowlers and bat an all-rounder at No. 8. Hopefully Maxi (Maxwell) comes back later in the series, but the other three guys have been bowling fantastically.”
India coach Rahul Dravid said T20 batting star Suryakumar Yadav is part of the World Cup plans.
“I don’t think he needs to worry about the 27th; we’ve picked our team for the World Cup and Surya is in it,” Dravid said ahead of the first ODI against Australia in Mohali. “We’ve made that decision and we completely back him because he’s got a certain quality and ability that we’ve seen. Yes, we’ve seen those qualities at the moment in T20 cricket, but we know the kind of impact a player like him can make batting at six.
“He can change the course of a game, so we’ve completely backed him. We’re very clear about that. There’s been total clarity on the fact that we’re completely behind him and we know hopefully he’ll be able to turn it around.
“These three games, he is someone who will get all three games, or at least the first couple certainly to be able to again develop and keep growing in his journey as a one-day cricketer, but in terms of selection, no, we’ve made our decision.”
When asked about the presence of veteran spinner R Ashwin, Dravid said: “Having someone of Ashwin’s experience to come back is always good for us. Also, he’s got the ability to be able to contribute with the bat at No. 8. He’s someone who we’ve always thought of where in case there were certain injuries or opportunities opened up, he was always part of our plans. I know he hasn’t played a lot of one-day cricket in the last bit, but someone of his experience can deal with that really well.”