A day after Marcus Stoinis belted an IPL century to bolster his World Cup credentials veteran opener David Warner was dropped by his team amid flagging returns.
It comes after Glenn Maxwell also stepped away from the tournament to refresh, and nominal Australian World Cup captain Mitch Marsh continues to battle a niggling hamstring injury which brought a premature end to his time in India.
Amid calls from former Australian Test captain Tim Paine to elevate Jake Fraser-McGurk in to the World Cup squad, the young dynamo, who has two IPL half-centuries so far for the Delhi Capitals, blasted another quickfire innings of 23 with teammate Warner watching from the sidelines.
Warner, 37, has scored more runs than any other overseas batter in the IPL, but that hasn’t translated to scores this season.
He’s made just 37 runs in his past four innings and was given a spell as young gun Fraser-McGurk and India star Rishabh Pant guiding their team to a big win.
Warner, who will retire from international cricket after the T20 World Cup, is expected to open the batting with Travis Head, who has been on fire in his IPL return, smashing 324 runs in his six matches.
But Warner’s lack of output, and the hamstring injury which forced Marsh, who is set to bat at number three in the tournament, could pose questions for selectors.
Stoinis remains in the frame for a spot in the squad and blasting 124 for the Lucknow Super Giants, batting at number three, surely enhanced his chances.
Fraser-McGurk is now also looming as a top-order consideration after making 163 runs in just four innings after being a late addition to the Capitals squad. His return is just four runs short of Warner, who has played seven matches for just one 50.
Maxwell, who also looms as crucial to Australia’s World Cup hopes, dropped himself from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru after making just 32 runs in six games.
Australia opens its T20 World Cup campaign against Oman on June 6, with the squad to be confirmed next week.