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Cricket Australia (CA), on Thursday, announced the inclusion of Cameron Green into Australia Men’s T20 World Cup squad after Josh Inglis, the reserve wicketkeeper-batter, was ruled out due to a hand injury. It also means the defending champions will be now without a backup wicketkeeper for Matthew Wade.
Green had impressed one and all in Australia’s recent tour of India, where he was promoted to open. The all-rounder also showed his ability to hit the deck and bowl at a quick pace.
Though, after confirming Green’s inclusion, Australia would be hoping Wade don’t suffer any injury. If that happens, the hosts would have to give the gloves to one of the 15 players already in the squad, as ICC rules do not permit players from outside the squad to be replaced on the day of a game.
In that scenario, the keeping job might probably go to David Warner, who had once kept the gloves during a Test against Pakistan in 2014. Additionally, captain Aaron Finch has also done it briefly in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Notably, Australia have previously gone into World Cups without having a backup keeper, including the 2015 50-over global showpiece event where Brad Haddin was the only option.
“If you look back over World Cup squad selections, there have been plenty of times where Australia have gone in with only one frontline keeper in the squad. And that is to give greater flexibility to batting and bowling structures in the team. It’s a conversation about how we want to give ourselves the most options, rather than potentially covering the small risk that is there,” said coach Andrew McDonald in a statement.
Australia squad for T20 World Cup 2022 (updated):
Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Adam Zampa, Cameron Green.
