Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy has won the T20 World Cup six times and the ODI World Cup twice and has been the captain since the end of 2023. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Mitchell Starc was one of the top names, who Australia will be missing from the Champions Trophy 2025. The Australian side has seen a major reshuffling in the last week after top names like Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh were conformed to miss the Champions Trophy. Steve Smith will be the new Australia captain. To bolster the squad, Australia has brought in Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, and Tanveer Sangha. Additionally, Cooper Connolly will travel as a reserve player.

Several reports and former player Brad Haddin said that the pregnancy of Alysa Healy, Australian cricket great and wife of Mitchell Starc, was the reason behind Starc pulling out of the Champions Trophy 2025.

But Healy has quashed the rumours. “I’m fine,” she was quoted as saying by Fox Sports. “Hadds (Brad Haddin) suggested maybe I was pregnant but I can guarantee that I’m not. Yeah we’re fine.”

Cricket Australia chair of selectors George Bailey also clarified the reason behind Starc missing the Champions Trophy 2025.

“We understand and respect Mitch’s decision,” chair of selectors George Bailey said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“Mitch [Starc] is deeply respected for his commitment to international cricket and the priority he places on performing for Australia. His well documented ability to play through pain and adversity, as well as forgoing opportunities in other parts of his career to put his country first should be applauded. His loss is of course a blow for the Champions Trophy campaign but does provide an opportunity to someone else to make a mark on the tournament.”

Fraser-McGurk, who has a modest ODI average of 17.40 from five matches but impressed with a 95 off 46 balls in the Big Bash League (BBL) for Melbourne Renegades, adds depth to the top order following Marsh’s absence. Johnson, a left-arm pacer, offers a like-for-like replacement for Starc, though he is yet to take a wicket in his two ODI appearances. Meanwhile, leg-spinner Sangha, who was already with the Test squad in Sri Lanka as a development player, will partner with Adam Zampa as the team’s second frontline spinner.

“The squad has changed significantly over the past month on the back of some untimely injuries and the retirement of Marcus Stoinis,” Bailey said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

“The upside of that is that we have been able to call on players who have had international exposure and success over the past 12 months,” he added.

“A strong core of some our most experienced players will provide a strong foundation in our attempt to win this edition of the Champions Trophy. We have a range of options to shape the playing XI within the tournament depending on the opposition and conditions we face,” he said.

With ANI inputs 

Team Australia in action© X (Twitter)

India vs Australia LIVE Telecast, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 LIVE Streaming© BCCI

India vs Australia LIVE: Let’s take a look at the squads!

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, S Sajana

Australia vs Pakistan Live Score Updates Women’s T20 World Cup© X (Twitter)

Australia vs Pakistan Live Streaming Women’s T20 World Cup: Where To Watch© AFP

Ahead of the highly anticipated ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, India Women’s opener Shafali Verma expressed her admiration for Australia’s Alyssa Healy, praising her batting performance during the powerplay. India will kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against New Zealand on October 4 at Dubai International Stadium. Prior to the tournament, India will play warm-up matches against the West Indies and South Africa. “I would say Alyssa Healy, because whenever she is in good form, she makes the most of the powerplay and continues to build her innings afterward. She always looks to play the full 20 overs, so I would choose her,” Shafali said in an interview with Star Sports.

India reached their first-ever T20 World Cup final in 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a night filled with hope for clinching the elusive title. However, Harmanpreet’s side was bowled out for 99 while chasing 185 against Australia.

In the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India once again came close to making history, reaching the semi-finals. However, Australia once more proved to be an obstacle in the final four.

In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, India has had mixed results. They lost the T20I series against Australia and England earlier this year, but Harmanpreet’s side rebounded with two consecutive series wins against Bangladesh.

In July, India’s T20I series against South Africa ended in a draw. In the Asia Cup 2024, India lost the final to Sri Lanka, who remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.

Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.

Travelling reserves: Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor.

Non-travelling reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra.

File photo of Virat Kohli© AFP

Australian skipper Alyssa Healy said that it is “hard to fathom” playing the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, as the country continues to deal with consequences and crises after the violence which led to several deaths and ousting of the government. The tournament is set to take place from October 3 to 20 this year. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to decide on an alternative venue for the tournament, with the UAE being considered as a favourite.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently declined a request for the tournament to be hosted in India. Other names being considered among options are Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Speaking as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Healy said that she finds it hard to see a cricket tournament going on and “taking resources away from a country that is struggling”.

“I find it hard to see a cricket event going on over there at the moment and taking resources away from a country that is struggling. They are needing everyone they can get in there helping people that are dying,” said Healy.

“I would find it hard to fathom playing there at the moment, as a human being, I feel like it might be the wrong thing to do. But I will leave it to the ICC to work out,” she added.

Speaking on Sunday, all-rounder Sophie Molineux also said that players are being kept in the loop regarding the hosting of the competition.

“We have been [in] chats with Cricket Australia and they are doing a lot of work with the ICC, and we have got full faith that they will come up with the right decision for everyone,” said Sophie.

Australia will be naming its squad next Monday. They had defeated South Africa in their territory in the final by 19 runs to secure their sixth title.

Recently, Bangladesh witnessed several incidents of violence and chaos, especially targeting minorities, including Hindus after Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee Bangladesh after student protests turned into a massive anti-government movement. She arrived in India on August 5 at a short notice.

An interim government in Bangladesh, led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, was sworn in on August 8.