Marnus Labuschagne’s consistent form with the bat has led to his selection in the ODI squad of Australia for upcoming India tour starting January 14.
The Queenslander has been named as part of a 14-player squad to face India in three one-day internationals. Meanwhile, coach Justin Langer will take rest and hence will miss the series, whereas assistant coach Andrew McDonald will be leading the boys in his absence.
However, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Lyon failed to make a cut into the squad and will instead play in the Big Bash League.
Talking about Labuschagne, the right-handed batsman averaged 60 in the One-Day Cup for the Bulls this season and has scored three centuries in as many Tests this summer, which has seen him rocket up the Test batting rankings to sit inside the top five batters in the world.
“We also believe Marnus Labuschagne is ready for his international white-ball debut after his strong form for Queensland in this form of the game,” national selector Trevor Hohns said as quoted by Cricket Australia.
“The performance of the top order at home through the T20 series was very strong so we look for that to continue in the Indian ODI series,” Hohns added.
Here is Australia ODI squad for India tour:
Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (vice captain), Pat Cummins (vice captain), Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa