Glenn Maxwell dropped from one-day squad to face India
Following a frustrating World Cup where his weakness against the short ball was exposed and he failed to take a wicket, Glenn Maxwell has been dropped by selectors for Australia’s one-day squad to face India in January.
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Glenn Maxwell has been dropped from Australia’s one-day squad with the fallout from this year’s World Cup campaign set to be laid bare on Tuesday.
The Herald Sun understands that Maxwell will be left off the list when Cricket Australia announces a 14-man squad for January’s three-match series in India.
The Aussies have not played an ODI since they were smashed by England in this year’s World Cup semi-final.
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Maxwell endured a frustrating tournament where his weakness against the short ball was exposed and he failed to take a wicket.
Selectors considered axing Maxwell for the World Cup semi-final.
But the dazzling allrounder got the nod in a lineball call ahead of Matthew Wade, and made 22 (23) in Birmingham.
Maxwell declared on Friday that he wanted to make his international return against India after taking six weeks off to work on his mental health.
Tuesday’s selection snub looms as a win for Melbourne Stars, who will now have their brilliant captain available for the entire Big Bash season.
Maxwell’s mental health would’ve been factored in by selectors when they chose the squad for the India series, which begins on January 14.
Selectors were left frustrated by Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis after this year’s World Cup with the allrounders receiving unfavourable report cards.
Stoinis was subsequently dropped from Australia’s T20 squad.
But Maxwell remains firmly entrenched in the T20 set up and will be a key weapon as an explosive top-order batsman at next year’s home World Cup.
Legspinner Adam Zampa also fell out of favour during the World Cup and was left on the bench for the final four games, with Test great Nathan Lyon’s superb control helping him get the nod.
But conditions in England did not suit spinners and Zampa has won selection for the series in India. He remains Australia’s frontline white-ball spinner.
Test No.3 Marnus Labuschagne is also likely to make the squad, putting the boom batsman in line to make his ODI debut.
Significant changes are expected from the World Cup squad, which featured veterans including Usman Khawaja, 32, and Shaun Marsh, 36.
Left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff (back) is unavailable in another change from the World Cup line-up.
Captain Aaron Finch said after the semi-final exit that Australia would start planning for the 2023 tournament, which will be played in India.
“After a World Cup you always start looking and you have one eye towards the next one,” Finch said.
“As a management (and) senior players, I’m sure over the next couple of months we will sit down and start talking about that.
“(We’ll) start planning how we think that we can best prepare and improve over the next four years to get us to go two steps further.”
England selected the guts of its 2019 champion team and its game plan immediately after its early exit from the 2015 edition.
That meticulous four-year build was lauded by rivals as the perfect blueprint as they boasted unrivalled continuity.
Seven Englishmen who played in this year’s final at Lord’s also played in the country’s first ODI after the 2015 World Cup.