Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade will lead Australia in the five-match T20I series against Bangladesh starting from Tuesday.
Last month, Australia’s regular captain Aaron Finch didn’t take part in the three-match ODI series against West Indies. He suffered the injury to his right knee during practice ahead of the T20I series against West Indies. Finch will undergo a minor surgical procedure on his injured right knee in order to be fit for the T20 World Cup later this year.
“Selectors and the Cricket Australia medical team are optimistic Finch will recover in time for the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman, which commences in mid-October.” Cricket Australia said
Finch captained Australia in the three-match T20I series, where they lost to the hosts 1-4. Then, Alex Carey lead Australia in the ODI series as Finch was unavailable. Carey led Australia to a 2-1 ODI series win.
Now, Matthew Wade will be the captain of the Australian side in the T20I series. Matthew Wade was Australia’s stand-in skipper in one of the T20Is against India last year. He has captained at the domestic level with Victoria, Tasmania, and the Hobart Hurricanes. Wade has scored 613 runs in 43 T20Is at a healthy strike rate of 130 including three half-centuries.
Matthew Wade on his captaincy:
“When you come in and take over from someone it’s just about giving the ability for those guys to really take ownership of their game and at the top of the mark, they need to execute. Where my leadership might come in a little more is with our batting group. We’ve probably got a younger batting group.”
“We haven’t changed focus too much, coming with not a lot of cricket probably took us a few games to get going against West Indies. I am expecting good results over here. We’ve got good leaders in the group. And experienced bowlers as well so probably where my leadership will come in a bit more is with our batting group.” Wade added.
All five T20Is will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka (August 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9). Bangladesh has never won a T20 match against Australia.
Australia’s Squads for the T20I series against Bangladesh
Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade (captain), Adam Zampa. Travel reserves: Nathan Ellils, Tanveer Sangha.
