Cricket Australia (CA) announced a new captain for the three-match T20I home series against West Indies after skipper Pat Cummins opted for rest to manage his workload.
Mitchell Marsh will lead the Aussies against the Caribbean side as the Baggy Green will play their first T20I match of 2024.
Marsh captained the 2021 World Cup winners in South Africa while Cummins was out but he did not get the opportunity with head coach Andrew McDonald.
Unfortunately, the all-rounder will, once again, not be able to work with McDonald as he will sit out during this series but will return next month during the New Zealand series.
Australia are still undecided on who should be their captain for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 which is just six months away. However, officials are planning to keep Marsh as their skipper for the mega event in June.
With the presence of Matthew Wade, who captained the side in India recently, as well, Australia do have some reliable options to pick a captain and they will soon decide after New Zealand, confirmed chief selector George Bailey.
“We’ll make a decision about that post after the New Zealand series,” chief selector George Bailey said. “We’re certainly interested in just exploring Mitch Marsh getting that opportunity for a while longer.
“One thing we are conscious of is Mitch hasn’t had a chance to work yet with Andrew MacDonald as coach. We’re confident that’ll work, but we just haven’t seen it yet.”
Steve Smith is also rested alongside Cummins, the right-handed batter is likely to return to New Zealand which will begin in February.
“He’s likely to return for that New Zealand series in some capacity, so he’ll continue to get opportunities,” Bailey said. “We are trying to create opportunities for some players in some different spots across these six games.
“So there will be some shifting around and the versatility, flexibility, agility of players to be able to change their role is really important.”
Australia T20 squad
Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
