Summary Australia named Josh Inglis captain for the ODI series against Pakistan after Mitchell Marsh suffered an ankle injury, joining several senior players unavailable for the tour.
(Web Desk) – Australia will call on their fourth-choice captain for the ODI series against Pakistan beginning this weekend after Mitchell Marsh became the latest senior player to be ruled out of the tour.
Josh Inglis will skipper the Aussies in their three-match series after Marsh was revealed to have suffered an ankle injury in the Indian Premier League.
The 50-over captain Pat Cummins and his deputy Travis Head, who has led the Aussies four times in T20Is, are both absent due to the IPL playoffs that overlap with the games in Islamabad and Lahore.
It leaves Inglis to take the reins. The keeper-bat incidentally performed the role once before in November 2024, also against Pakistan and also when a host of first-choice players were absent.
Marsh, who has not yet been replaced in the ODI squad, has returned home having missed Lucknow Super Giants' final IPL match last week.
"Marsh … will remain in Perth for further assessment and treatment until further notice," said a Cricket Australia spokesperson. "His availability for the white ball tour of Bangladesh will be determined in due course."
Cummins is being joined by Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc in missing both the Pakistan and Bangladesh tours. Head will join the group in Bangladesh after the IPL concludes.
His absence should increase the chances of teenager Ollie Peake making his international debut against Pakistan.
Matt Short, who will effectively be replaced by Connolly for the Bangladesh ODIs, is eager to inflict revenge on Pakistan after they swept Australia 3-0 in a bilateral T20I series earlier this year. They also beat the Aussies in their last ODI series in 2024-25.
Australia squad for Pakistan ODIs: Josh Inglis (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Riley Meredith, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa
Pakistan squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shamyl Hussain, Sufyan Moqim
