Solely focussed on winning T20WC, trust security: Marsh offers dead bat on T20WC controversies

Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh fielded queries on Pakistan’s boycott of its T20 World Cup match against India and Bangladesh’s removal from the tournament but refused to comment on both the controversies, insisting that his sole focus is on winning the showpiece.

Marsh was facing the Pakistani media after his team was handed a 0-3 T20 series whitewash by the home side here last night.

Aside from trying to explain the performance, he was also asked about his views on the off-field drama that has overshadowed the build-up to the big event which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka starting February 7.

“I don’t have any comment on that at this point. We are going to the World Cup to just focus on what we are doing, we will let that stuff take care of itself,” he responded when asked about his thoughts on Pakistan’s boycott of the India game on February 15 in Colombo.

The journalists then pressed him on Bangladesh being ousted from the event for refusing to travel to India on account of “security concerns.” He offered a dead bat to that query as well.

“The same goes for my previous answer. We are going to the World Cup to try and win it and we are solely focussed on that. As the Australian team, we trust the people there to keep us safe and that’s all I would say,” he said.

Australia would be based in Sri Lanka during the preliminary stage and have games against the hosts, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Oman beginning February 11.

Marsh downplayed the setback against Pakistan and the apparent weak handling of spinners here.

In their three losses, the visiting batters were bamboozled by the spin troika of Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed, who combined to snare 17 wickets.

“In isolation, this series, we struggled,” Marsh admitted when asked about the performance that would cause concern given that the World Cup is also scheduled in spin-friendly venues.

“But over the last 18 months, we’ve been one of the best teams in the world and we’ve played spin really well. So, we’ll take the learnings forward to the World Cup. We know we’re a very good side in all conditions, so looking forward to the World Cup,” he said.

“Some of the guys who haven’t experienced these conditions before will take these experiences forward in their careers.”