There is no guarantee on the part of Australia's selectors that all players who have made themselves unavailable for the tours of West Indies and Bangladesh will immediately return to the field for the T20 World Cup if others take the opportunity to impress in their place. .
David Warner, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis withdrew from contention for the upcoming tours due to various personal reasons, while Daniel Sams, who contracted COVID-19 in India prior to the IPL, previously This option was chosen. Manage his mental health.
National selector Trevor Hohns reiterated that individual player circumstances are understood and respected at a time when international cricket requires bubbles and quarantines, but admitted it was "disappointing" that with the World Cup four months away, a Couldn't make a full team.
"We are obviously disappointed that he made himself unavailable, but we fully understand and respect his decision," Hohns said. “Having said that we also see this as a good opportunity for others who have been included to pursue their case for inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad. I take it as a good measure of my depth. I see it as a test too.
"If a player wants to make himself unavailable it is his prerogative to do so, we can't force him to go on tour, but we can say that they are giving someone else a chance."
Australia's eventual lead remains uncertain for the T20 World Cup starting in mid-October, but there were plans for a tri-series that will likely clash with the restart. IPL. Detailed talks are yet to come, but Hohns did put forth his expectations about the players' preferences.
"It will certainly depend on their commitments and what we think they should do with respect to Australia at that time," he said.
The massive absence meant recalls for Ben McDermott, Ashton Turner and the first call-ups for Dan Christian and Wes Ager. There is also another opportunity for others who were part of the T20 squad in New Zealand such as Josh Phillippe and Riley Meredith.
Australia's T20 selection has been disrupted since the start of the last domestic season due to a combination of biosecure bubble requirements, injuries, rested players, early plans for twin tours of South Africa and New Zealand and now the latest withdrawals.
While Hohns said the selectors most likely had a World Cup squad a few months back, some missing ones would go straight back, adding that a strong showing could affect other positions in the coming weeks. There is also a possibility that the squads would have to be larger than the traditional 15.
"It will be an interesting discussion for us to go ahead, no doubt, depending on the performances in the West Indies, especially on additional inclusions for this tour," he added. "So if someone was to actually put out the lights with a bat or a ball, we'd have to stand up and take notice."
One player not considered for the tour was Marnus Labuschagne, despite the number of missing names, with the decision allowing him to continue his Glamorgan contract. A key part of this was the opportunity to play a significant amount of T20 cricket instead of sitting aside on a tour where he would have only featured in ODIs. He has made a lucrative start to the T20 blast with three consecutive half-centuries, an unbeaten 93 and easy wickets.
"Marnus went to play county cricket a while back and he also has the opportunity to play a lot of T20 cricket, which he told us he would really like to do," Hohns said. "He was fully involved in this decision, he thought it was in his best interest to continue playing cricket in England. We are definitely looking at his performance in the T20 competition to not go unnoticed."