Lahore: Australia may be forced to re-shuffle their squad ahead of their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal encounter, following an injury to opener Matthew Short during their washed-out match against Afghanistan in Lahore on Friday.
Short sustained a calf injury while fielding and appeared hampered during his brief innings of 20 at the top of the order before rain forced the match to be abandoned. Despite the no-result, Australia secured a place in the semifinals, with their opponent yet to be determined pending the completion of the remaining group matches.
Australia will face either India or New Zealand in the semifinals. If drawn against Rohit Sharma's India, the team will have to travel to Dubai for the knockout fixture.
Captain Steve Smith hinted that Short is unlikely to recover in time for the high-stakes encounter. "I think he'll be struggling," Smith remarked. "We saw tonight he wasn't moving very well, and I think it's probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover."
Inexperienced top-order batter Jake Fraser-McGurk is the frontrunner to replace Short, though Smith himself may consider moving up the order to partner Travis Head, allowing Australia to introduce an additional bowling option. All-rounders Sean Abbott and Aaron Hardie are also available in the squad, while spinner Tanveer Sangha is another potential inclusion.
"We've got a few guys there to come in and do a job, and we are looking forward to that," Smith added.
Australia 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.