New coach, debutant Labuschagne headline Australia's ODI squad to tour India

Marnus Labuschagne is part of a 14-man squad set to face India in a three-match One-Day International series, starting January 14.

Published : Dec 17, 2019 09:38 IST

Marnus Labuschagne is in line to make his Australia ODI debut.
Marnus Labuschagne is in line to make his Australia ODI debut.
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Marnus Labuschagne is in line to make his Australia ODI debut.

In-form Australia star Marnus Labuschagne is in line to make his ODI debut as part of seven changes for next month's tour of India.

An established Test member, uncapped ODI batsman Labuschagne is part of a 14-man squad set to face India in a three-match series, starting January 14.

Led by assistant coach Andrew McDonald as Justin Langer rests, the Australia team also includes Josh Hazlewood, despite the paceman sitting out the Boxing Day Test against New Zealand due to a hamstring injury.

Read: Abid Ali: The hero in Pakistan’s homecoming Test

However, there is no room for seven players that featured in the Cricket World Cup semifinal loss to England – Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Lyon, while Jason Behrendorff is injured.

"As one of the leadership group it's important to show that not only are we focused on getting the balance right for the players but equally the coaches and staff, head coach included," Langer said.

"'Macca' is an exceptional coach in all forms of the game and has been fantastic since coming on board. He will do a great job with this squad. We are in very, very good hands."

National selector Trevor Hohns added: "The performance of our white ball squads has been strong, and we are hoping to build the momentum towards the T20 World Cup at home at the end of the year and ultimately build towards the 2023 ICC World Cup in India.
 
"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. 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."

Australia will face India in Mumbai before matches in Rajkot (January 17) and Bengaluru (January 19).

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