Image Credit- ICC
Although captain Mitchell Marsh won’t be able to bowl until the last week before Australia’s T20 World Cup team departs for the Caribbean, coach Andrew McDonald is optimistic that he will be ready to play in the tournament’s opening match.
Due to a hamstring rupture, Marsh was ruled out of the IPL early last month. When he returned from India, the healing process had taken far longer than anticipated.
Before the squad departs for the Caribbean on May 25, Marsh joined a group of Australia’s players who are not playing in the IPL for the first of two three-day pre-tournament training camps in Brisbane over the following two weeks.
Marsh wasn’t originally anticipated to make it to the first camp of the week, but during the past two days, his hamstring had sufficiently healed to allow him to attend and bat in the nets. However, McDonald acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to bowl until much closer to the competition.
“You probably won’t see him bowl in the next couple of weeks here,” McDonald told reporters at Allan Border Field on Tuesday. “It’ll probably happen the week before we leave. And then he’ll be able to ramp that up when we’re over there. We’ll be able to cherry-pick the moments during the tournament where he’ll be useful with the ball. We’ve got some all-round depth in the squad, which gives us good coverage anyway.
“[His recovery was] probably a little slower than expected on the back of the hamstring. But we’ve got plenty of time now that he has been ruled out the IPL. The first game is just short of a month away now. So ample time for him to get ready. But really positive to see the skipper on the park.”