An extended harm lay-off had saved Mitchell Marsh out of worldwide cricket for about three months. In December final 12 months, the Australian all-rounder underwent surgical procedure to deal with his troublesome left ankle.
Though he can be one of many important cogs in Australia’s wheels when the three-match ODI collection begins right here on Friday, Marsh received’t be bowling.
The 31-year-old believes he’s nonetheless a good distance away from bowling full-fledged. “No, I won’t be bowling in this series, (I am) probably three weeks or a month away from bowling in a game, (will) build towards the IPL,” Marsh mentioned on the eve of the collection opener.
“It is not the right time to be rushing back. We have a lot of bowling options in the team at the moment and a lot of cricket to be played this year. Very recently, I had surgery (ankle) to prolong my career as an all-rounder and I won’t be rushing back….”
He missed the whole Big Bash League and solely featured in a few home video games for Western Australia earlier than flying out to India for the limited-overs collection. “After a long layoff through injury, for me, it has been really important to come back as a better version of myself. I feel that way right now, I feel good. It was nice to play some games for WA (Western Australia), get some miles in the leg and get ready for this series. I’m feeling great, and hopefully, I can contribute to a few wins,” he mentioned.
Leading as much as the ODI World Cup – to be held in India later this 12 months – the Aussies wish to plan issues nicely prematurely.
“As an all-rounder, it’s vitally important they play all three of us…that’s a joke,” he mentioned in jest. “For the balance of our team, having as many all-rounders in here as we can is important for the structure we line up with. We’ve seen really good teams in the past, like England, have guys at No. 8 who are genuine batters, and it gives you the ability to either set or chase really big totals. Think we’ll see that in this series; hopefully, there will be a lot of runs scored,” he mentioned.
“Looking forward to the ODI World Cup, just the way cricket is played here in the white-ball format, you’ll have to chase or make big scores. The more flexibility and depth you can have with your batting line-up, I think it will be really important.”
He additionally admitted that David Warner, who returns to motion after recovering from an elbow harm, is match despite the fact that the staff administration doesn’t wish to rush him in.
Over the previous couple of weeks, Steve Smith has given sufficient indications that this might in all probability be his final tour to India, however Marsh hopes that the seasoned campaigner continues. “Have I got captaincy aspirations? No. I think Steve has hinted a few times that he might retire soon, he is just keeping everyone on their toes…” he mentioned, earlier than including with a smile, “He is here to stay, I am declaring it…”
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com