Australia’s Steve Smith-led squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy will rue the services of Mitchell Starc. The menacing left-arm seamer, who recently featured in both the Tests in Galle, has withdrawn from the eight-nation tournament due to personal reasons.
With Marcus Stoinis retired and the likes of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh on the treatment table, the selectors have brought Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tanveer Sangha and Sean Abbott into the new-look 15-man squad, with Cooper Connolly picked as the travelling reserve. All in all, Australia had to make as many as five changes to their preliminary squad for the tournament.
“The upside of that is that we have been able to call on players who have had international exposure and success over the past 12 months,” George Bailey, chair of men’s selectors, said. “A strong core of some our most experienced players will provide a strong foundation in our attempt to win this edition of the Champions Trophy. We have a range of options to shape the playing XI within the tournament depending on the opposition and conditions we face.”
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa. [Travelling reserve: Cooper Connolly]
Jake Fraser-McGurk, the explosive batter, has been added to reinforce the top order, while Abbott and Johnson support the pace attack, with the latter offering a left-arm option in the absence of Starc. Australia have also added a second leg-spinner to the squad in the form of Sangha while Dwarshuis, who has played just a solitary ODI, also finds a place as Australia kicked their contingency plans into action. They will play two ODIs in Sri Lanka before kicking off their campaign against England in Lahore on February 22.
Introducing our 15-player squad for the 2025 ICC #ChampionsTrophy 👊 pic.twitter.com/Rtv20mhXAW
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) February 12, 2025
