Australia to tour India next month for three ODIs
By Kersi Meher-Homji
January is a month to look forward to for cricket lovers in Australia and India. After Australia plays her third and final Test against New Zealand from 3rd to 7th January in Sydney, they fly to India for three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in India.
Sponsored by Qantas, the short tour programme is as under:
January 14: First ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
January 17: Second ODI, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.
January 19: Third ODI, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
The National Selection Panel of Australia has named the following 14-player squad for this tour.
Aaron Finch, captain (Victoria)
Sean Abbott (New South Wales)
Ashton Agar (Western Australia)
Alex Carey, vice-captain and wicket-keeper (South Australia)
Pat Cummins, vice-captain (New South Wales)
Peter Handscomb (Victoria)
Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales)
Marnus Labuschagne (Queensland)
Kane Richardson (South Australia)
Steven Smith (New South Wales)
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)
Ashton Turner (Western Australia)
David Warner (New South Wales)
Adam Zampa (South Australia)
It is a strong line-up with inclusion of top players Steve Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins to challenge Virat Kohli’s men who were thrashed by West Indies in their first ODI match against West Indies at Chennai last week.
To me the exclusion of off-spinner Nathan Lyon came as a surprise. Also the naming of two vice-captains.
Australian National Selector Trevor Hohns said: “Similar to the Test team, we are wanting the white ball squad to continue the form of the unbeaten T20 Series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“The performance of our white ball squads has been strong, and we are hoping to build the momentum towards the T20 World Cup at home at the end of the year and ultimately build towards the 2023 ICC World Cup in India.” I am sure cricket lovers in India will enjoy the batting of new sensation Marnus Labuschagne. His surname rhymes with champagne. Also his love for bubble gum makes him “bubbly”. I can imagine headlines in India next month: “Another champagne innings by Labuschagne”!
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