Mitchell Marsh’s hamstring recovery progressing for T20 World Cup but acknowledges the stakes of avoiding setbacks
Australia’s new T20I skipper, Mitchell Marsh, has assured that his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury is progressing as expected, although it has required more time than initially projected. However, he acknowledges the importance of avoiding any setbacks ahead of Australia’s opening World Cup encounter against Oman on June 6 in Barbados.
Marsh has been sidelined since his last outing for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL on April 3 due to a right hamstring strain. Following the injury, he was repatriated from the IPL to Perth on April 12 to commence his initial recovery under the supervision of Australia team physiotherapist Nick Jones, who operates out of Perth.
Subsequently, two weeks later, the Capitals announced Marsh’s withdrawal from the remainder of the IPL, attributing it to the extended duration required for his recovery from the injury.
In Perth on Thursday, Mitchell Marsh, newly appointed as Australia’s World Cup captain, expressed optimism about his recovery status while acknowledging the ongoing effort to return to full fitness.
“The hamstring is progressing well,” Marsh stated. “It’s at the stage we hoped it would be. It’s a matter of ensuring everything falls into place over the next three weeks before the departure.”
“If a match were scheduled for tomorrow, I might face some difficulties. But with a few more weeks to go, the timeline seems ideal, assuming no setbacks occur.”
Marsh’s hamstring issue contributes to the decision to include Cameron Green in the 15-member squad over the in-form Jake Fraser-McGurk. This choice is made with the consideration that if Marsh is required to play solely as a batsman or needs careful management early in the tournament, and in the event of any setback to the injury-prone pace-bowling allrounder Marcus Stoinis, Australia would lack a pace-bowling option in their top seven.
“Selecting a World Cup squad always means some players miss out,” Marsh commented. “However, I believe we’ve assembled a fantastic squad with a wealth of versatility and experience, which brings a lot of excitement.”
