D’Arcy Short replaces David Warner as Australia announce Cummins-less T20I squad
Cricket Australia have announced the squads for the T20I series, resting an injured David Warner to recover fully ahead of the Test series, with Pat Cummins being rested to manage the workload.
David Warner, who scored 69 and 83 in the first two ODIs to be the perfect foil to Aaron Finch’s calm avatar, and guided Australia to two comfortable wins in the ODI series. However, he will not be available for the third ODI which is still important given all points count towards the ODI Super League.
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The New South Wales opener, alongside his statemate Pat Cummins, has been rested for the remaining white-ball matches with D’Arcy Short filling in for the injured opener. Short has been training with the Australian squad and is in the team bubble since travelling from Perth to NSW in the wake of Adelaide closing their border for a brief period of time.
He, in all likelihood, will be a sure starter if Justin Langer doesn’t look at a left-field option of making Alex Carey or Marnus Labuschagne the opener for the third ODI and the T20s that followed.
Cummins rested as Warner awaits scan report
However, it must be noted that Pat Cummins doesn’t have any such injury concerns and his rest is to manage his workload since he is playing non-stop cricket since Australia’s tour of England in August/September, the Indian Premier League in the UAE, and the first two ODIs back home.
“Pat and Davie are critical to our plans for the Test series. Davie will work through his injury rehab and in Pat’s case it is important all of our players are managed well to keep them mentally and physically fit throughout what is a challenging summer,” Justin Langer said.
“The priority for both is being fully prepared for one of the biggest and most important home Test series we have played in recent years, especially with World Test Championship points up for grabs.”
Meanwhile, it has also been decided that Marcus Stoinis will be with the squad despite not recovering fully from the side strain sustained during the first ODI in Sydney.