Despite being unable to participate in the Champions Trophy due to a back injury, Australian T20 captain Mitchell Marsh has received clearance to join his new team, Lucknow Super Giants, as a batter-only for the upcoming IPL. He is expected to travel early next week.
On January 31, Marsh, 33, was sidelined from the tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy due to “lower back pain and dysfunction”, which also marked the end of his domestic season. This issue was believed to stem from a disc concern that he had been dealing with since his limited overs stint in the UK back in September 2024.
In early February, Marsh sought the help of a back specialist and took some time off to address his issue. Recently, he has resumed batting and received clearance to participate in the IPL for LSG as a batter-only. He is poised to make an impact at the top of the lineup for his new team, having been purchased for $US400,000 at last year’s IPL Auction. On March 18, Marsh will join LSG’s squad and reunite with his former coach Justin Langer, who has also coached him in Australia, Western Australia, and with the Perth Scorchers.
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Marsh has been absent from the field since his participation in the BBL with Perth Scorchers on January 7. Following this, he took a break from the remaining two matches of the season. This game marked his sole appearance after being left out of Australia’s Test team prior to the fifth Test in the Border-Gavaskar series. Before this BBL game, he last played white-ball cricket during the T20I and ODI tour of the UK in September.
In the past three IPL seasons, Marsh has been part of the Delhi Capitals team. However, he has faced numerous injury concerns during this time. Last year, in just four games, he suffered a hamstring injury during the IPL and had to leave for rehabilitation. Despite this setback, he was able to recover in time to captain Australia in the T20 World Cup. Prior to his stint with Delhi Capitals, Marsh has also represented Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiants, Pune Warriors, and Deccan Chargers.
In the meantime, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood of Marsh’s Australia team are anticipated to recover in time for the IPL tournament. They had previously been absent from the Champions Trophy due to various health concerns.
Cummins assured ESPNCricinfo in his recent statement that his ankle, which had previously flared up during the Border-Gavaskar series, is now fully healed. He is expected to resume his role as captain for SRH.
In addition, Starc experienced an ankle issue during the recent two-Test matches against Sri Lanka. However, he is expected to participate in the upcoming IPL despite sitting out of the Champions Trophy. This season, Starc will join Delhi Capitals after being acquired for a hefty $US1.4 million at the auction. It should be noted that he earned the title of player of the match in last year’s final while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Hazlewood, who was acquired by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a whopping $US1.49 million, garnered the highest bid among all Australians at the auction. He was unable to play last season due to injuries and has been dealing with side and calf injuries this season. Unfortunately, his hip issue resurfaced, resulting in him having to sit out of the Champions Trophy.
Despite five states still in contention for the Sheffield Shield final, other Australian IPL players are expected to prioritize the tournament over the domestic competition. Matthew Wade, who chose to play for Tasmania in last season’s Shield final, will not be missing the start of Gujurat Titans’ campaign this time.
Similarly, South Australians Travis Head (Sunrisers), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Capitals), and Spencer Johnson (KKR) have all committed to the IPL despite their team already securing a spot in the Shield final which is scheduled to begin on March 26.
Queensland’s Xavier Bartlett and Western Australia’s duo Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie will join Punjab Kings and play under Ricky Ponting, ruling them out from participating in their respective state teams’ last Shield round that commences this Saturday or potential final match.
