Cricket World Cup: Australian star Cameron Green set to be dropped for Marcus Stoinis amid burnout fears

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is set to lose his World Cup spot ahead of their South Africa clash, with fears the superstar is mentally and physically exhausted.

Cameron Green is set to lose his World Cup spot to Marcus Stoinis amid fears the Australian superstar is mentally and physically exhausted.

An underwhelming Ashes series which ended in him being dropped for the last Test has now filtered into a sluggish lead-in to the World Cup campaign in India where he has looked out of sorts through the warm-up games.

There are concerns inside Australian cricket circles that the prodigiously talented 24-year-old and future of the team is fried from essentially being on the road for eight and a half months this year.

Green is set to be replaced by Stoinis in Australia’s line-up to face South Africa in the second World Cup match in Lucknow on Thursday and the young all-rounder is now facing the challenge of having to rejuvenate himself and his game from outside the XI.

Red flags were first raised for this exact scenario at the start of the year when Green signed his stunning $3.15 million IPL deal with the Mumbai Indians.

Cameron Green is set to lose his World Cup spot to Marcus Stoinis. Picture: Getty Images.

Cricket Australia were powerless to stop him taking such an irresistible and life-altering offer, and were hoping the invaluable experience that comes in the world’s premier T20 league would outweigh the downside of not giving his young mind and body a chance to rest in what was going to be the biggest year of his career.

The fact Australia was in the space of a few months to contest the three most prized trophies in cricket – a Test tour of India, the Ashes and the ODI World Cup – was always going to push their multi-format starts to the limit.

But those fears were only exacerbated when it came to their prized asset Green, especially with the rigours of his first ever IPL thrown on top, plus his workload management as a fast bowler and the fact he is a young man away from his family and partner.

A concussion suffered in South Africa last month also didn’t help him find rhythm with his World Cup preparations.

The Aussies have kept Marcus Stoinis on ice as he recovers from injury, but are set to unleash him against the Proteas. Picture: Getty Images.

Green missed two Tests in India and two in England, but he has been part of the squad throughout and ridden the emotional roller coaster of those heavy-duty tours.

Selectors have done their best to give Green a chop out where possible – he didn’t play the T20s in South Africa and he won’t be part of the T20 squad taking on India after this World Cup.

Green has also recognised the heavy load he has had this year and reports suggest he won’t play in the Big Bash League this year despite huge interest from the Perth Scorchers and even an audacious play for his signature from the Brisbane Heat.

However, it’s hard to properly manage a player who has had such a meteoric rise.

When in form – Green is in Australia’s best XI for all three formats and he is a key to their success.

The problem is he’s not in form and Australia urgently needs to find the right balance to help the young star realise his enormous potential.

Mitchell Marsh is the incumbent all-rounder in the Test team after his masterful injection into the Ashes, but everyone knows Green is the future and the priority will be getting him back into the Australian teams he promises to dominate.