Australian opener Travis Head has turned out to be India’s Kryptonite in the ICC finals this year. After a 163-run knock in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final, Head went on to score 137 runs in the World Cup 2023 final to break more than a billion hearts. But within a few days, Head is expected to be back in action against an Indian side he tormented in Ahmedabad. On the eve of the first game of the series, skipper Matthew Wade cleared the air over whether Head would be in the playing XI or not.
"We will have a chat with him and see how he is feeling. There won't be any pressure from us for him to play the first T20I, but he will definitely feature throughout the series. The T20 World Cup is not that far away and I think we have got 10 or 11 games before the battle kicks off again. Whether it's tomorrow or throughout the series, you will see Travis play," Wade said in the pre-match press conference.
Apart from Head, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott and Adam Zampa are the other Australian cricketers who are a part of the T20I squad as well. Wade understands that there is a need to manage their workload after a hectic long-running World Cup. However, the wicketkeeper-batter clarified there are no injury concerns.
"We have not got so many injury concerns as certain. We are checking with the guys who played in the World Cup. We are trying to make sure that they are ready to go mentally and physically.
"So, there will be a few of those guys who will definitely miss out tomorrow just to get themselves up and about for the next four games. Apart from the physical and mental fatigue, we have a full squad to pick from," Wade added.
Meanwhile, Head has also thrown his hat for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 mini-auction. He had represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before. So far, he has played 20 T20Is and scored 460 runs at an average of 28.75 including one half-century.
Australia T20I squad: Travis Head, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(c & wk), Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha, Kane Richardson, Aaron Hardie
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