Melbourne: Head coach Justin Langer on Tuesday said the in-form Australia in the one-day international (ODI) format have forced the selectors to make tough calls while choosing their 15-man squad for the World Cup.
“It’s (the 15 for the World Cup) actually becoming more obvious by the day to me. The same with the other selectors. It becomes clearer as you watch games,” ICC quoted Langer, as saying.
“That’s why games are so important. There’s obviously going to be a couple of really disappointed players. But that’s the tough business we’re in,” he said.
Australia had not won an ODI series for over a year but its dramatic improvement saw its eight consecutive wins across India and UAE, making them one of the World Cup favourites.
After losing first two ODIs 0-2 against India, Australia bounced back to clinch the series with three wins. The team then went onto sweep the five-match series against Pakistan in UAE.
The tours saw captain Aaron Finch regaining his form, while Usman Khawaja remained spectacular throughout the series. As a result, Australian selectors will face challenges while scaling down the opening department with returning pair of David Warner and Steve Smith after their 12-month ball tampering ban.
Meanwhile, Warner, who is competing in the 12th Indian Premier League, is among the big runs so far. The head coach hinted that one of the three will have to be pushed down the order for the marquee event to be held in England from May 30 to July 14.
“Aaron has had a really good partnership with David Warner as well. This partnership’s blossoming between Aaron and Uzzie (Usman) at the moment. David has shown he’s a very versatile player, Uzzie’s batted three a number of times, Finchy’s batted in the middle order. Versatility’s important,” Langer said. (
