In a big blow for Australia, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup indefinitely as he has returned home due to personal reasons. As per the ICC, Marsh flew home from India on Thursday due to personal reasons, and there is no certainty that he will return to the subcontinent for the remainder of the tournament as it heads towards the knockout stages. “A timeline on his return to the squad is to be confirmed,” Cricket Australia confirmed in a statement.
The Aussies have already lost the services of their star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for the match against England on Saturday after he injured himself on the golf course, suffering a concussion after falling off the golf cart. On top of it, the absence of hard-hitting Marsh is a big blow for Australians as they look to seal their place in the semifinals.
Alex Carey, Sean Abbott, Marcus Stoinis, and Cameron Green will be in contention to replace Maxwell and Marsh for the match against arch-rivals England, while spinner Tanveer Sangha is travelling with the team as a reserve.
Australia has the option to replace Marsh if he misses the rest of the tournament, but all replacements are to be approved by the Event Technical Committee.
Marsh has a total of 225 runs at an average above 37 and two wickets to his name at the World Cup so far, with his best effort with the bat coming against Pakistan in Bengaluru when he smashed a brilliant 121. He has also smashed a fifty against Sri Lanka. Australia is scheduled to play England on November 4 and Bangladesh on November 11 in their last two league games.
