Australia is set to play five T20Is followed by three ODIs when they tour the West Indies this year. Cricket Australia has announced a preliminary squad of 23 men who will start training, and a final list of players will be out in the coming weeks. 

A preliminary squad has been named because the Australian selectors and the coaching staff want to look at all possible options for the upcoming World Cup. This series might prove vital for Australians as they try to pick a final players list for the World Cup. It isn’t going to be an easy decision for the selectors since many players deserve to be on the flight to India for the World Cup.

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One surprising name that isn’t on the list is the Australian star Marnus Labuschagne, who is currently doing a county stint with Glamorgan. Australian chief selector told the press that Marnus is pretty upset about not being part of the touring squad. He isn’t on the team because it wouldn’t be logistically possible for him to join the team now and again to make the squad that will go to the West Indies due to quarantine restrictions. Cricket Australia wants Marnus to complete his time in the UK and improve as a batsman and return to Australia after that. 

With this preliminary squad, Australia has covered almost all the bases, and the selection for the final touring party will be made after a couple of weeks of training. They have included Tanveer Sangha and Josh Phillippe, who had an excellent BBL season, and would be ready to do anything to stamp their place on the squad.

Australia’s 23 men preliminary squad:

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Tanveer Sangh, D’Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.