Marsh and Haddin dropped from Australian ODI squad

Australia on Monday dropped the out of form duo of Brad Haddin and Shaun Marsh from their 14—member cricket squad for the ODI tri-series against India and Sri Lanka starting on February 5.

Australia won the Test series against India 4-0 and both Marsh and Haddin struggled in it, leading to speculation that they could be dropped.

Matthew Wade will replace Haddin behind the stumps but the latter could be called back in the later stages of the series.

“Brad Haddin has come off a heavy program of Test cricket -- the workload for a wicketkeeper/batsman is rigorous and resting him for the start of the series will refresh him for coming international commitments while also giving us a chance to look at Matt Wade at this level,” said National Selector John Inverarity after announcing the squad.

Inverarity said the squad is a talented mix of proven performers and young players not yet experienced at the international level.

The newcomers and relative newcomers in the squad also include batsman Peter Forrest, all-rounders Mitchell Marsh, ironically the younger brother of Shaun, and Dan Christian and pacer Clint McKay

“We want a flying start to the Commonwealth Bank Series against India and Sri Lanka and as always, have selected a group we are confident can win while also keeping an eye on development for the future,” Inverarity said.

“Peter Forrest, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, Dan Christian and Clint McKay are in form and will have a chance to either prove or further prove themselves on the international stage.

“We have not at this stage named a vice-captain for the first three games with Brad resting and Shane Watson still unavailable while he completes his recovery from injury, and will assess that position when the squad assembles,” he added.