Australia's men's cricket team suffered another setback ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 as pace bowler Mitchell Starc withdrew from the tournament citing personal reasons.
Starc is the fourth experienced pace bowler who will not be there at the Champions Trophy as Cummins (ankle), Hazlewood (hip), and all-rounder Mitch Marsh (back) are already ruled out and the shock recent retirement of Marcus Stoinis earlier this month left selectors scrambling to find replacements.
With these players not available as of Wednesday, the Aussies finalised their 15-player squad for the eight-team event. Veteran batter Steven Smith will continue to lead the squad in the absence of Cummins, just like he did on the Tour of Sri Lanka.
With Starc pulling out, the Australian national selectors were forced to add five new players -- Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, and Tanveer Sangha -- to the playing group for the tournament. Cooper Connolly will be the lone traveling reserve.
Mitchell Starc has withdrawn from the tournament for personal reasons, with the support of Cricket Australia and the Australian men's team. Starc will also not be available for the two-game ODI series in Sri Lanka which leads into the Champions Trophy.
The squad has changed significantly over the past month on the back of some untimely injuries and the retirement of Marcus Stoinis. The upside of that is that we have been able to call on players who have had international exposure and success over the past 12 months.
A strong core of some of our most experienced players will provide a strong foundation in our attempt to win this edition of the Champions Trophy. We have a range of options to shape the playing XI within the tournament depending on the opposition and conditions we face.
We understand and respect Mitch’s decision. Mitch is deeply respected for his commitment to international cricket and the priority he places on performing for Australia. His well-documented ability to play through pain and adversity, as well as forgoing opportunities in other parts of his career to put his country first should be applauded. His loss is, of course, a blow for the Champions Trophy campaign but does provide an opportunity for someone else to make a mark on the tournament.
Starc has requested the media to respect his privacy regarding this decision and the CA said he will not be making any comment on this matter.
Australia will continue their preparations for the tournament with two ODIs against Sri Lanka in Colombo this week, ahead of their tournament opener against England on February 22. This will be followed by matches against South Africa on February 25 and Afghanistan on February 28.
Australia Champions Trophy squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
Travelling reserve: Cooper Connolly.