Australian all rounder Marcus Stoinis will miss the game against Sri Lanka due to side strain. The skipper Aaron Finch confirmed the news while speaking to media on Friday.
The talented all rounder already missed the match against Pakistan mid week. His absence was clearly felt on Wednesday, as Australia missed a fifth bowler in their team. Both Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch tried their arm but were not effective enough against Pakistan.
Australia do not have another seam bowling all rounder in their team at the moment. So, they flown in Mitchell Marsh as a backup to Marcus Stoinis. However, captain Finch revealed that Stoinis’ recovery will be assessed after Sri Lanka game
“He won’t be available again for tomorrow. He hasn’t bowled yet in his recovery over the last couple of days,” Finch told on Friday. “So having four days between this game and the next game, I think that will be the ideal time to really test him out and assess him.
Marcus Stoinis has a very important role in Australian cricket team for this world cup.
Australia are set to face Sri Lanka in an important game at Kennington Oval on Friday. However, they will continue to rely on their part timers for this match. But with Mitchell Marsh in the mix, the team will definitely take a call on Marcus Stoinis’ injury before their next game after Sri Lanka.
“But I think over the over the next five, six days, there will be a call made on that, just based on what he can and can’t do. We’ve seen him batting and running, no problem. Just he hasn’t tried to bowl yet. Just waiting for the injury to settle down a bit more.”
Australian cricket fans will be hopeful of Marcus Stoinis’ recovery. Although, he did not impress in the match against India, Stoinis brings the perfect balance to this Australian side. The defending champions will play against Bangladesh next week.
However, there are four days in between the two matches. The team management are doing their best to help Stoinis gain full fitness. He received throw downs from Ricky Ponting and spin consultant Sridharan Sriram at the indoor nets on Friday.
Despite his incredible potential, Marcus Stoinis needs to play bigger knocks with his bat. He is a very important player and it is hard to believe that he did not cross 20 mark over his last 6 innings.