IPL star Jake Fraser-McGurk has been added as a travelling reserve to Australia‘s T20 World Cup squad as veteran opener David Warner and captain Mitch Marsh recover from injury.
Fraser-McGurk and Adelaide Strikers‘ Matthew Short were named to join the 15-man squad during the early stages of the tournament, with the team set to fly to Barbados on Wednesday to commence their tournament campaign.
The 22-year-old made his ODI debut during Australia’s second match against the West Indies earlier this year.
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Fraser-McGurk stunned in the IPL competition scoring 330 runs in nine matches at an average of 37. He also recorded the best strike rate in the tournament, at an extraordinary 234.
The only Australians to score more runs in the IPL this season were Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head, who finished as the tournament’s third highest run scorer.
Speaking on the Willow Talk podcast earlier this month, Fraser-McGurk revealed he was not surprised to be left out of the T20 squad, however, was interested in taking up a travelling reserve spot if the opportunity arose.
“It didn’t really bother me a hell of a lot because I wasn’t in this position to sort of… feel like I’ve earned that yet. World Cup cricket is a lot different to IPL and franchise cricket,” he said.
“I can’t really see myself batting five or six because we’re pretty set there with Timmy David, Cam Green – those sort of blokes. That’s the way I think about it. There’s hopefully going to be more time for that.
“It’s also hard to fit in. You’ve got David Warner, our best opener ever in three formats. You’ve got Travis Head, who’s lighting it up over here and has lit up for the past 18 months. And then Mitch Marsh is the same and he’s also the captain.
“If I do somehow get a travelling reserve [spot] then great, I can get a good experience there or something like that.”
Cricket Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey released a statement about the Fraser-MCGurk selection.
“Matt and Jake made compelling cases for initial selection with their respective performances for Australia last summer and, in Jake’s case, more recently in the IPL,” Bailey said.
“As the tournament proceeds, the short turnaround between fixtures makes it challenging to get players in at short notice in the event of injury. Matt provides the squad with an all-round skillsets option, while Jake provides further batting cover.
“Both players have exciting talents that can add to the squad if needed. If not, the experience will still be valuable in their respective development journeys at an international level.”
Australia’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign will begin on Thursday, June 6, when they take on Oman.
AUSTRALIAN T20 SQUAD: (C) Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, MArcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Davide Warner, Adam Zampa.
Travelling reserves: Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk.