Side strain rules Marcus Stoinis out of home T20Is against West Indies

The reigning T20 World Champions Australia have already announced a strong 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 at home. They are arguably the favorite team to win this edition of the tournament since it is being held in their own backyard. 

However, with hardly a few days left in the tournament, the Aussies have suffered a major setback as star all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against the West Indies. Stoinis has still not completely recovered from a side strain that he picked up last month.

Australia will be hosting the Windies in a two-match T20I series. While the first game will be played at the Carrara Oval in Queensland on Wednesday, October 5, the final game will be contested at The Gabba in Brisbane on Friday, October 7.

Marcus Stoinis to miss upcoming T20I series against the West Indies 

According to ESPNcricinfo, "Stoinis has not travelled with Australia's squad to the Gold Coast ahead of the first game of the two-match series against West Indies on Wednesday. He has instead remained in Perth where he will link up with the squad at the weekend."

Marcus Stoinis suffered a side strain injury on September 8 when Australia were hosting the Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in an ODI series. The injury forced him to miss the recent three-match T20I series against India which the Aussies went on to lose 1-2.

The Western Australia cricketer had left the Sri Lanka tour midway in June this year after suffering a minor strain. However, the recovery did not take much time and he made himself available to participate in the second edition of The Hundred in England. 

It now remains to be seen whether Stoinis will be able to recover in time before the marquee tournament or not. Apart from him, the title-holders have an additional option in batting all-rounder Cameron Green, who showcased outstanding performances in India. 

Even though Green is not in the World Cup squad, but he could make it to the squad if the injury rules Stoinis out of the competition.

It is to be noted that the deadlines for making injury-forced changes to squads without consulting the event technical committe is October 15 (for teams that have directly qualified for Super 12).