Mitch hobbled by injury ahead of World Cup

The T20 World Cup campaign of likely Australian captain Mitch Marsh is not expected to be impacted by the hamstring injury that is taking longer to heal and has ended his IPL campaign.

Marsh won’t return to India for the remainder of the competition as he completed his recovery in Perth having suffered a slight tear in his right hamstring after playing just four games for the Delhi Capitals.

He flew back to Perth on April 12 to consult Cricket Australia’s medical staff and a decision on his possible return to the IPL was delayed at the time to give him adequate time to recover before being reassessed.

But with Delhi battling and, according to coach Ricky Ponting the injury taking a “little longer” to heal, Marsh won’t play again until the World Cup begins in June.

“I don’t think he’ll be coming back,” Ponting said.

“There’s a certain cut-off point with replacement players. Cricket Australia were keen to have him at home to start his recovery process and we sent him back as soon as we could.

“They’ve been managing his rehab for a couple of weeks now. I spoke to him the other day and it seems it’s taken a little longer than he first thought to get over it.

“I don’t think the T20 World Cup would be an issue.”

Australian coach Andrew McDonald said “all roads lead to Mitch” when asked about the World Cup captaincy following a successful recent white-ball tour of New Zealand.

The T20 World Cup begins on June 1 in the USA and the West Indies.

Marsh only played four games for Delhi this season, scoring 61 in three innings with a high score of 23. He bowled eight overs, picked up one wicket, and went at an economy rate of 12.87.

It’s the second successive season where Capitals have lost Marsh’s services midway after playing only nine of 14 games in 2023.

The Capitals are eighth on the table with three wins and five losses.