Australia Pacer Riley Meredith Ruled Out Of The Five-Match Bangladesh T20I Series

Australia’s fast bowler Riley Meredith has been ruled out of the upcoming five-T20I series against Bangladesh due to side strain as confirmed by Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday. Meredith, an express pace bowler, had recently made his international debut on tour of West Indies in the T20I series.

Meredith picked two wickets and four wickets respectively against the West Indies in the T20I series but gave away runs with an economy of 13.40 with a bowling 7.5 overs. His injury has come at the wrong time as the Australian team is missing several of their top players- due to injury and also due to pulling out of the twin tours of West Indies and Bangladesh.

With Australia looking to test out its bench strength ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 set to be held in October, such injuries are putting a dampener on their preparation. The Men in Yellow have already lost captain Aaron Finch to a knee injury, while Steve Smith was ruled out due to his recurring elbow problem.

Australia Names Replacement For Riley Meredith

Cricket Australia confirmed that Riley Meredith has been replaced in the squad by Nathan Ellis, who impressed one and all in the Big Bash League (BBL) by scalping 20 wickets in just the 14 games for Hobart Hurricanes last season.

Changes have already been made for the Bangladesh T20I series which begins with the 1^st T20I to be played on August 3 in Dhaka and the final match will be played on August 9. All the matches are set to be staged in Dhaka’s Shere Bangla stadium, due to COVID-19 norms and restrictions.

Australia is without atleast 7 players not available due to personal reasons and injuries for this T20I series and hence provides the other fringe players an opportunity to showcase their skills.

Matthew Wade has been named captain for the T20Is against Bangladesh which provides him with an opportunity to put on a dominating performance and seal his slot in the Australia team, ahead of the T20 World Cup. With a good experience of leading domestic teams in Australia, the southpaw is not new in the captaincy front.

This series also is mostly the last international series, before the T20 World Cup for the Aussies. With Australia losing the last series against West Indies, the Men in Yellow would be keen to bounce back.

Also Read: I Can’t Understand The Stringent Rules Australia Placed: Bangladesh Head Coach Russell Domingo Unhappy With Australia’s Quarantine Requirements