Marsh, Inglis to reunite as openers for Bangladesh T20Is

Australia's returning T20 captain Mitch Marsh hopes he can help turn around a difficult white-ball tour of the subcontinent by rekindling his opening partnership with Josh Inglis that lit up the back-end of the recent Indian Premier League.

Having watched his side lose consecutive ODI series to Pakistan and Bangladesh as he recovered from an ankle injury, the fit-again Marsh confirmed his preference for Inglis to partner him at the top of the order for the three T20Is in Chattogram in the ongoing absence of opener Travis Head.

The Lucknow Super Giants' torrid recent IPL campaign received an almighty second wind when Inglis, who missed the first part of the tournament for his wedding, was paired to open with Marsh by their coach and fellow Western Australian, Justin Langer.

It proved a combination that, belatedly, became the fast-scoring tournament's most feared.

"Definitely looking at opening with 'Ingo' at this stage," Marsh said ahead of Wednesday's first T20I (6pm AEST) against Bangladesh. "That could change, but I just think that Ingo is such a dynamic player in the Powerplay, and something we'll look to win is the batting Powerplay."

Inglis has opened in T20Is four times before but never with Marsh; he filled in up the top when Marsh missed two games through injury during the recent World Cup, and partnered David Warner twice in 2024.

In the IPL, Marsh's dominance of high-pace bowling and Inglis' skill against spin allowed the duo to become unstoppable in the Powerplay on batter-friendly pitches.

In four games opening together, they put on 29 (in 2.3 overs against Mumbai), 77 (in 5.1 overs v Chennai), 135 (in 11.4 overs against Chennai again) and 109 (in 8.2 overs against Rajasthan).

Even in a season that saw remarkably quick scoring, no first-wicket stand averaged more than the Australian pair's 87.50 (minimum four innings), and their combined strike rate of 211 topped even Sunrisers Hyderabad's notorious 'Travishek' combination, with Head and Abhishek Sharma going at 205.3. Only the Punjab Kings' (Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh scored at 212.33) had a faster opening combo.

"I was really pleased to finish off the IPL season well, albeit in a tough season for the Super Giants," said Marsh, whose red-hot streak of 111, 10, 90 and 96 in his final four innings still could not lift Lucknow off the bottom of the IPL standings.

The 34-year-old added he was "feeling good" and "refreshed" after missing the pair of 1-2 series defeats to Pakistan and Bangladesh, in which Inglis took the captaincy reins.

Australia's openers, along with other batters like Tim David and Cooper Connolly who had strong IPL seasons, may need to readjust their sights in Chattogram.

The IPL's average first-innings winning score was 218, while the equivalent number over the past 10 T20Is in Chattogram is 165, though the most recent T20I at the venue in April saw Bangladesh comfortably chase New Zealand's 6-182.

While Head, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will miss the T20 series, Marsh leads a host of inclusions for the matches in the port city on Bangladesh's southeastern coast.

David is the most notable, while left-arm quick Spencer Johnson could play his first internationals in more than a year after returning from a back injury in the IPL. Aaron Hardie and Josh Philippe have both been recalled too, replacing ODI squad members Alex Carey, Marnus Labuschagne and Liam Scott.

Spinning allrounders Joel Davies and Nikhil Chaudhary are in line to make their international debuts with Cooper Connolly still playing as a specialist batter due to a back issue.

After a disappointing T20 World Cup in February in which they failed to advance out of the group stage, Australia will need some of those newcomers to step up over the coming years ahead of the Olympics and the next World Cup in 2028.  

"I think in the lead up to the World Cup, you're trying to create a style that you think can go as deep as possible," Marsh said of their recent flop in Sri Lanka where they lost to the tournament co-hosts and Zimbabwe.

"We're solely focused on winning this series, and the style that's going to be needed to do that, which is going to look potentially a little bit different in these conditions. But we'll still be an attacking team that take the game on and look to take the positive option in all three phases of the game."

Qantas Tour of Bangladesh 2026

Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa

June 9: First ODI: Bangladesh won by 86 runs (DLS Method)

June 11: Second ODI: Bangladesh won by five wickets (DLS Method)

June 14: Third ODI: Australia won by one wicket

Australia T20I squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Nikhil Chaudhary, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Adam Zampa

June 17: First T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST

June 19: Second T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST

June 21: Third T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST

All matches exclusive on Kayo Sports and Fox Cricket