Cricket World Cup: Tanveer Sangha given last-minute chance to bolt into Australian squad

Leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha will be given a last-minute chance to impress selectors and is a genuine chance to earn a World Cup spot as injuries bite.

Leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha will be given a last-minute chance to impress selectors on Wednesday night ahead of Australia’s World Cup squad announcement.

Cricket Australia is on Thursday set to name its final 15-man squad for next month’s tournament, with destructive opener Travis Head a strong chance to hold his position as he recovers from the broken hand that will rule him out for at least the early stages of the event.

That would mean Marnus Labuschagne misses out despite impressive performances during the recent one-day series against South Africa.

However Head is not Australia’s only injury worry, with left-arm tweaker Ashton Agar under a cloud following recent calf troubles.

Agar flew home from South Africa to attend the birth of his child and was due to return ahead of the World Cup, which begins next week.

But concerns over his body mean Sangha – who made his one-day international debut earlier this month against the Proteas – remains a chance to feature in the World Cup.

Sangha is set to play the third and final ODI against India in Rajkot on Wednesday night (Australian time), which is Australia’s final one-dayer before the deadline to finalise its squad.

Agar had been named ahead of Sangha in the provisional 15-man squad.

Tanveer Sangha could be called in for the World Cup. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

Even if Head is named, Australia would still be able to withdraw him mid-tournament under injury rules.

While Labuschagne is one option to replace Head, so too is Victorian all-rounder Matt Short, whose skillset is more like that of Head and Glenn Maxwell, who will also enter the tournament on the back of limited preparation after missing most of the South Africa and India tours through a combination of injury and to be home for the birth of his first child.

With Adam Zampa and Agar having been Australia’s primary white-ball spinners for several years, Sangha, 21, leads the next wave ahead of left-armer Matt Kuhnemann, who does however remain in the frame after playing recently for Australia A against New Zealand A, and Todd Murphy, both of whom made their Test debuts this year.

While Mitchell Starc is poised to return from his groin issue, injuries to backup seamers Spencer Johnson (hamstring) and Nathan Ellis (groin) have damaged Australia’s pace reserves should any of the frontline quicks fall over during the seven-week tournament.

The Aussies enter the third ODI on the back of a five-match losing streak but still have official warm-up matches against Netherlands and Pakistan before their tournament proper begins on October 8.

Originally published as Cricket World Cup: Tanveer Sangha given last-minute chance to bolt into Australian squad