T20 World Cup 2024: Mitchell Marsh expected to be fit in time

Australia will begin their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign on June 5 against Oman in Barbados and they will have their skipper, Mitchell Marsh, fit in time, confirmed head coach Andrew McDonald.

Marsh sustained a hamstring injury in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 while representing Delhi Capitals (DC) after which he returned to Australia on April 12 and has been recovering there since then.

The Aussies have already started their preparation camp at the National Cricket Centre in Albion Queensland as all the players who are part of the IPL, are currently practicing there for the World Cup.

Marsh was also seen in the nets with the bat but he will not be bowling for at least another two weeks, McDonald confirmed.

"He's progressing well. Probably a little slower than expected," McDonald said as quoted by the ICC. "But we've got plenty of time now that he has been ruled out of the IPL.

"(Our) first game is just short of a month away now. So ample time for him to get ready.

"You probably won't see him bowl in the next couple of weeks here. 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, (and) we've got some all-round depth in the squad, which gives us good coverage anyway."

Should Marsh not recover in time, Australia will have plenty of options in terms of captaincy with the presence of Matthew Wade, who has captained the T20I side in the past, and Pat Cummins as well.

"We've got ample depth in the leadership space there with Matthew Wade, who's led before when Mitch hasn't been available. And obviously, Pat Cummins has some leadership qualities," McDonald added.

Australia’s squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.