Smith dropped from OZ T20 WC squad

All-rounder Mitchell Marsh was formally announced full-time captain while veteran Steve Smith and young Jake Fraser MCGurk were left out of the preliminary 15-member T20 World Cup squad announced by Australia on Wednesday. It is the first time in a decade that Smith, a former captain and one of Australia's finest batters of the generation, has been excluded from a World Cup squad.

The 34-year-old had hoped to open in the marquee tournament but the selectors decided to go with Travis Head, David Warner and Marsh at the top. The lack of an IPL contract didn't help Smith's case either.

Moreover, Smith is not as prolific as some of the best T20 batters in the world though he is among the finest in the Test and ODI formats. He has scored 1094 runs from 67 T20I matches at an average of 24.86 and a strike rate of 125.45. The Squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. PTI APA

Eight players featuring in the IPL have been named in the 15-member Afghanistan T20 World Cup squad to be led by star all-rounder Rashid Khan.

Hashmatullah Shahidi, who captained Afghanistan at the 2023 ODI World Cup, has been left out of the squad named by the Afghanistan Cricket Board.