Travis Head granted personal leave, Mitchell Marsh ruled out of Australia’s ODI series against Bangladesh

Australia have been dealt with a couple of significant absences ahead of their white-ball tour of Bangladesh, with star opener Travis Head opting out of the tour on personal grounds and captain Mitchell Marsh unavailable for the ODI leg due to an ankle injury.

Head, who was originally named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Bangladesh tour, has been granted personal leave following his Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Cricket Australia’s selectors have taken a cautious approach regarding his workload, considering the left-hander’s importance across all three formats over the next year.

Meanwhile, Marsh continues his recovery from the ankle issue that had already forced him to miss Australia’s recent tour of Pakistan. Although there was optimism around his availability for the entire Bangladesh assignment, the all-rounder will now focus on regaining fitness ahead of the T20I series, which gets underway on June 17.

National selector Tony Dodemaide confirmed Head’s absence and indicated that the opener is expected to return for Australia’s upcoming Test commitments.

“Travis was initially selected in the ODI and T20I legs of this Bangladesh tour but has subsequently been granted personal leave for both. We look forward to seeing him again for the Test series against Bangladesh,” national selector Tony Dodemaide said in a statement.

With both Marsh and official ODI skipper Pat Cummins unavailable for the ODI series, wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis is set to continue leading the side after captaining Australia during the Pakistan tour.

Should Marsh fail to recover in time for the T20I leg, Inglis is also expected to retain the captaincy in the shortest format. The Aussies have retained Matt Short and Ollie Peake, both of whom were initially selected only for the recent ODI series against Pakistan.

The duo impressed during that campaign, especially in Australia’s victory in the second ODI. Peake also made headlines by becoming the youngest specialist batter to debut for Australia in ODI cricket.

“We were hopeful Mitch Marsh would be available for the Bangladesh ODI series however he is still returning to full fitness from an ankle injury. Mitch will join the group in Dhaka and begin preparations for the T20I series,” Dodemaide continued.

Australia have also been forced into a change in their spin department after leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha suffered a hamstring injury during the Pakistan tour. The setback has ruled him out of the Bangladesh assignment.

In his place, off-spinner Todd Murphy has received his maiden white-ball call-up for Australia. Murphy’s inclusion offers the visitors another quality spin option as they prepare for conditions likely to favour slower bowlers in Bangladesh.

Australia are yet to announce a replacement for Head in the T20I squad, with further updates expected before the start of the series.

Australia’s T20I squad vs Bangladesh:

Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Adam Zampa

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