T20 World Cup 2024: Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short earn last-minute tickets in Australia squad

Australia has finalized their squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, as Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed their 15-member team along with the traveling reserves for the global event, which will be co-hosted by the USA and Caribbean.

Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short have won last-minute tickets for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, as Cricket Australia (CA) has named the duo as the traveling reserves in their final squad for the showpiece event. Unfortunately, Tanveer Sangha will miss out due to an injury setback.

Sangha was a strong candidate for one of the two reserve spots for the mega ICC event, but he injured his hip flexor during a training session at a pre-tournament camp in Brisbane last week.

Australia's T20 World Cup 2024 squad will arrive in Caribbean later this week

Australian support staff and most players from Australia’s 2024 T20 World Cup squad arrive in Trinidad later this week for two warm-up matches, with those competing in the ongoing IPL 2024 given time to spend at home before joining the team in the Caribbean for the global competition.

While Steve Smith was yet again ignored, the left-arm spinner Ashton Agar recalled despite not playing a T20I since the last T20 World Cup on Australian soil in 2022, with Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, and Cameron Green joining Glenn Maxwell in the final squad as all-rounder options.

Fraser-McGurk impressed everyone in the IPL 2024 with his six-hitting prowess, scoring 330 runs in just nine matches at an extraordinary strike rate of 234.04 for the Delhi Capitals (DC).

His explosive performance for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2024 almost earned him a spot in Australia's 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, but the strong top order comprising David Warner, Travis Head, and Mitch Marsh forced him to be satisfied as a reserve player.

Both players have exciting talents: George Bailey on Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short

On the other hand, Short has been excelling in the BBL as an opener in recent years, and he can bat further down the order and bowl solid off-spin, which earned him a spot as a reserve player for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, where Australia open their campaign against Oman on June 6 in Barbados.

Australia is placed in Group B along with England, Namibia, Oman, and Scotland for the T20 World Cup 2024. Notably, all the participating teams can make changes to their T20 World Cup 2024 squad until May 25, and if they want to make any changes in their squad after the deadline, they will have to get approval from the ICC's Event Technical Committee.

Australian chair of selectors George Bailey stated: “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 skillset 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 the international level.”

Here's Australia’s final squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024:

Mitchell Marsh (C), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Travelling Reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short.

Here’s Australia's Group B fixtures at ICC T20 World Cup 2024:

June 6: Australia vs Oman; Kensington Oval, Barbados

June 9: Australia vs England; Kensington Oval, Barbados

June 12: Australia vs Namibia; Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua

June 16: Australia vs Scotland; Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia