Cricket Australia (CA) has unveiled its 16-member T20I squad for the upcoming five-match sequence towards West Indies, with the announcement making headlines for the inclusion of Punjab Kings’ middle-order batter Mitchell Owen, who has acquired his maiden worldwide call-up following a stellar home season.
The sequence, set to be performed in Jamaica and St Kitts from July 19 to July 27, marks an important section in Australia’s preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Mitchell Marsh, recent off a prolific IPL marketing campaign with Lucknow Tremendous Giants (LSG) the place he amassed 627 runs together with his maiden century, returns to captain the aspect after lacking the earlier T20I sequence towards Pakistan attributable to harm.
The meteoric rise of Mitchell Owen
Owen’s choice caps a exceptional rise for the Hobart Hurricanes opener, who was the best run-scorer within the 2024-25 Huge Bash League and delivered a record-breaking century within the remaining. His performances additionally caught the attention throughout IPL 2025, the place he changed an injured Glenn Maxwell for Punjab Kings and made a direct influence. Owen’s aggressive stroke play and consistency have now earned him the chance to don the Australian colors for the primary time on the senior degree.
Chief selector George Bailey praised Owen’s home exploits in his official assertion, mentioning, “The connection, position growth and combos we could have as choices are rising properly as we construct in direction of the World Cup. It’s an thrilling time in our T20 area.”
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Notable omissions within the Australian T20I squad
The squad announcement additionally noticed some large names lacking out. Jake Fraser-McGurk and Marcus Stoinis, each of whom endured underwhelming IPL campaigns, have been dropped. Stoinis, who not holds a central contract, will as an alternative play in Main League Cricket (MLC) forward of the sequence. Check regulars Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc have been rested following their commitments within the concurrent Check sequence within the Caribbean.
Josh Hazlewood returns to the T20I fold after managing his workload through the Pakistan sequence, whereas left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann is about for his T20I debut, reflecting Australia’s intent to experiment with squad depth and combos forward of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Australia’s T20I squad for the 2025 West Indies tour
Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Inexperienced, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Quick, Adam Zampa
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