Stoinis replaces injured Marsh in Test squad

Victoria’s Marcus Stoinis has been called in as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh for the final two Tests of Australia’s Qantas Tour of India.

Stoinis, who is currently playing Sheffield Shield cricket for the Bushrangers in Alice Springs, will fly to India at the conclusion of the match against Western Australia.

Marsh will head home after succumbing to a recurring shoulder injury, having made 48 runs and bowled just five overs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

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"Mitchell has been playing with a shoulder injury for most of the summer, which we have been managing up until now, but unfortunately it has progressively deteriorated to a point where he is unable to function at the level required," said team physiotherapist David Beakley.

"Consequently he will return to Australia to consult with specialists to advise the best course of action."

While Stoinis, 27,  is averaging 15.63 with the bat and 39 with the ball in the 2016-17 Shield season, the powerful batting allrounder proved he has what it takes at international level by posting a breathtaking 146no in Auckland that almost salvaged an improbable ODI win in January.

He took three wickets in the same match and duly impressed stand-in ODI captain Aaron Finch.

"A lot of the time at this level (success depends on having) a real belief that you can do it," Finch said of Stoinis.

"Until you actually do it the first time and prove to yourself more than anybody else that you can do it, it can be quite a mental hurdle to get over.

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"Every time (Stoinis) walks to the crease in any format, whoever he's playing for now, it's in the back of his mind that he can take on a world-class attack and do it very successfully.

"So going forward, that's going to hold him and Australian cricket in fabulous stead; when you've guys who are three-dimensional players like that, they don't come around every day, so you embrace it.

"Hopefully that can take him forward and he can dominate international cricket."

National coach Darren Lehmann was similarly enthused about the prospects of the allrounder's future at the top level.

"We've seen in (domestic) one-day cricket that he's got the power," Lehmann said. "It was just the belief for him.

"Now he's got that belief, the world's his oyster, so it's up to him to keep kicking goals and away he goes."

Stoinis is no stranger to India having played seven games for the Kings XI Punjab in last year’s Indian Premier League as well as touring with Australia A in 2015.

On that tour he averaged 48 with the bat and claimed three wickets in two first-class matches against potential future opponents Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Cheteswhar Pujara, Karun Nair and Umesh Yadav.