Five unlucky outs from ODI squad

Travis Head

Having established himself in Australia’s middle order in recent years, Head has been dropped after he was moved up to open the innings in 2018. In amongst some low scores last year, the left-hander posted totals of 96, 51, 63 and 56 as an opener against England, but he’s been axed after managing just 15 runs from three innings against the Proteas in November. Having finished a vote off equal-second as Australia’s best ODI player in 2017, Head will now return to the KFC BBL before the Test series against Sri Lanka later this month with his World Cup chances up in the air.

Chris Lynn

The Chris Lynn ODI experiment has been brief, with the right-hander dropped after a disappointing series against the Proteas at the start of the summer. The right-hander appeared primed to take his chance at ODI level after he was the leading run-scorer in the JLT One-Day Cup, but he could only manage scores of 15 and 44 at No.4 and then 0 as an opener, his series runs coming at very un-Lynn-like strike rate of 76. Despite his solid start to the KFC BBL, he’s been overlooked in favour of more experienced international batsmen like Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb, putting his World Cup hopes under a cloud.

Ashton Agar

After spending much of 2018 with the Australian side but not in the XI, Agar has been left out of the ODI squad despite playing all five matches in England last year. Having sat on the sidelines for the Test tour of the UAE and the ODIs and T20s to start the home summer, Agar has been short of top-level cricket this season and will look to regain some consistent form with the Scorchers in the KFC BBL. With Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon picked in the squad to face India, the left-armer is facing a tough task to force his way back in for the World Cup.

D’Arcy Short

Having forced his way into the one-day side last year thanks to his red-hot BBL form, Short would have fancied his chances after another strong start to the tournament for the Hurricanes at the top of the order. The left-hander had middling results in England last year and then was dropped after opening the summer with a duck against the Proteas, forcing him out of calculations despite a strong domestic campaign in October.

Andrew Tye

The leading wicket-taker in the JLT Cup, Tye’s absence continues after he was dropped following the tour of England last year. Having taken eight wickets in two ODIs at the end of last summer, the right-armer copped plenty of punishment against a rampant England side in the UK and he’s been overtaken in the pecking order by the likes of Jason Behrendorff and Peter Siddle as back-up options to the Big Three quicks ahead of the World Cup.

And a word on Nathan Coulter-Nile

The right-armer’s latest back problem is obviously not too serious given he’s been retained in Perth’s squad for their BBL clash against Brisbane on Saturday night, but national selectors have decided not to take the risk for the three ODIs in the space of a week. The right-armer is a star performer and will be well in the frame for the World Cup if he’s fit and they’ll be hoping he can regain full fitness later this year.

Gillette ODI Series v India

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

India ODI squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami

First ODI: January 12, SCG (D/N)

Second ODI: January 15, Adelaide Oval (D/N)

Third ODI: January 18, MCG (D/N)