Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is set to miss the upcoming home series against West Indies, beginning October 5. The 33-year-old hasn’t recovered from a side-strain injury he sustained last month. He stays back in Perth to continue his recovery.
The player suffered the injury during the three-match ODI series against New Zealand in early September and was subsequently ruled out of the third ODI. He later missed three-match series in India, which the side lost 1-2. His’ absence continues Australia’s wait to finalise their starting XI for the T20 World Cup 2022, which they are set to host from October 16.
He played his part in maiden T20 World Cup triumph in the UAE last year, scoring 80 runs at a strike-rate of 137.93 while being dismissed only once, including a 31-ball 40* against Pakistan in the semi-final, reviving his side from 96/5 in company of Matthew Wade in a stiff run-chase of 177.
The deadlines for making injury-enforced changes to T20 World Cup squads without going through the event technical committee is October 9 for teams in the first round and October 15 for the ones in the Super 12s, which includes the Aussies.
Stoinis would be a major miss for Australia, should he fail to recover in time, but the hosts have quality back-ups in Cameron Green and Tim David, both of whom excelled in India recently, with the former not being a part of the original T20 World Cup squad.
All-rounder Ashton Agar and seamer Kane Richardson are unavailable for the upcoming two T20Is having sustained minor side-strain on the recent India trip.
The first Australia vs West Indies T20I will be played at the Carrara Oval, Queensland on Wednesday and will be followed by the second at The Gabba, Brisbane (Friday).
