AUSTRALIA has announced its 15-player squad for the upcoming One Day World Cup, set to be held in India. The tournament takes place across October and November, with England coming in as reigning champion having claimed the trophy on home soil in 2019.

In the tournament’s 13th instalment, Australia will look to go all the way for the sixth time, having last done so as host nation in 2015. The Aussies more recently took out the T20 World Cup title in 2021 and were crowned World Test Champions earlier this year.

They are poised to take a team stacked with versatile all-round options to the subcontinent, where many star players have plied their trade in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite currently nursing a wrist injury, Pat Cummins has been named to lead the side as captain.

He takes his place as one member of Australia’s ‘big three’ fast bowlers, alongside Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Though, the latter may also come under a slight injury cloud given his current groin complaint. Glenn Maxwell (ankle) is also sidelined at the moment but made the cut.

In the way of bowling depth, 31-year-old Sean Abbott earned his first World Cup berth, preferred for his batting prowess over fellow seamer Nathan Ellis. Recent International debutant Tanveer Sangha has not been included despite his exploits in Australia’s white ball tour of South Africa.

Arguably the biggest omission was Marnus Labuschagne, who was originally overlooked for the tour of South Africa. Instead, capable gloveman Josh Inglis slots in as a reserve batter, with the Australian side set to bat deep and have a range of bowling combinations.

Adam Zampa is the front line spinner with Ashton Agar in the wings, while Maxwell and Travis Head can both roll the arm over. Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis are the allround seam options, along with Abbott a little further down the order.

Changes to the squad can be made up to the ICC mandated deadline of September 28 – just two days before Australia’s first warm-up match against the Netherlands. After another scratch match with Pakistan, the five-time champions kick off their campaign against India on October 8.

2023 AUSTRALIAN ONE DAY WORLD CUP SQUAD:

Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

2023 ONE DAY WORLD CUP FIXTURES:

Warm-up match: September 30: v Netherlands, Thiruvananthapuram (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
Warm-up match: October 3: v Pakistan, Hyderabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 8: v India, Chennai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 12: v South Africa, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 16: v Sri Lanka, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 20: v Pakistan, Bengaluru (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 25: v Netherlands, Delhi (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 28: v New Zealand, Dharamsala, 4pm AEDT
November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT

November 15: First semi-final, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 16: Second semi-final, Kolkata (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 19: Final, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT