George Bailey Reveals The Reason Behind Travis Head's Inclusion In Australia's World Cup Squad Despite Injury

Australia’s chief selector George Bailey confirmed that Travis Head will be unavailable for the first half of the ICC World Cup 2023. George Bailey expressed hope that Travis Head’s return will boost the team’s performance in the later stages of the tournament.

On Thursday, September 28, Australia announced their final squad for the upcoming World Cup. Despite an injury, the selectors retained Travis Head in the 15-member squad. Marnus Labuschagne replaced the injured left-arm spinner Ashton Agar in the squad.

Travis Head Has Been A Really Important Player In ODIs – George Bailey

Former Australian captain George Bailey highlighted the significance of Travis Head‘s role in the ODI team and expressed hope of his availability in the middle of the World Cup.

“We have made the decision to carry Travis through the early stages with the aim of him being available around the mid-part of the tournament,” Bailey said on Thursday.

“He has been a really important player in this ODI team and we are hopeful his return can provide a positive impetus as it gets to the business end of the tournament.”

Head sustained a wrist injury during the fourth ODI against South Africa, sidelining him for the recently concluded three-match series against India. Mitchell Marsh is anticipated to form a partnership with David Warner at the top of the order.

We Couldn’t Carry Two Injured Players – George Bailey

George Bailey stated that Australia had to make a difficult decision to exclude Ashton Agar from the squad, emphasizing that they can’t carry two injured players.

“This was a tough call but unfortunately, we couldn’t carry both Travis and Ashton into the tournament with the injuries they have,” Bailey said.

Ashton Agar was omitted from the squad because he couldn’t recover from a calf injury in time for Australia’s warm-up matches. The selectors have included only one specialist spinner, Adam Zampa, with Glenn Maxwell expected to contribute some overs.

Australia World Cup Squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Also read: IND vs AUS: Marnus Labuschagne In Focus After Travis Head Ruled Out Of World Cup