'Where do you fit him in?' - Josh Hazlewood opens up on Jake Fraser-McGurk's omission from T20 World Cup squad

As Australia prepare for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, the exclusion of the rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk from the 15-member squad has sparked discussions. Veteran fast bowler Josh Hazlewood opened up, recognizing the youngster's talents, while admitting that the youngster won't have a place in the strong batting line-up.

The Australian selectors raised many eyebrows by omitting both Fraser-McGurk and the experienced Steven Smith from their 15-man T20 World Cup squad. Despite the youngster's brilliant form in the ongoing IPL 2024, scoring 259 runs in six games. The Australian selection committee chose to opt out in-form players due to the team's depth.

Hazlewood, part of the Australian contingent preparing for the World Cup, acknowledged the attacking batter's special abilities. “The way he goes about it is quite special, just the ball striking. He'll get his time. He's only young. He'll be in the team sooner rather than later, I think,” Hazlewood told ESPN.

However, the seasoned campaigner emphasized the selectors' choice, “Where do you fit him in? It's so tough to fit into that top order with what we've got there with experience with Travis [Head], Mitch [Marsh], and Davey [Warner] in the top three, and then the middle order's pretty good as well,” he added.

Also read: Mitchell Marsh explains reason behind dropping Jake Fraser-McGurk

Being the captain, someone like Marsh will miss Steve Smith: Hazlewood 

While speaking about Smith's omission, Hazlewood highlighted the 34-year-old's value as a leader and batting stalwart in spin-friendly conditions.

“Probably someone like Marshy will miss him being captain and just having another player on the field like Smudge [Smith] who you can just turn to at any time and get his advice. His batting and fielding as well. The conditions potentially could have suited his game, and it's always like picking up the pieces from a bad start is his job,” the pacer elaborated.

Also read: George Bailey explains Steve Smith’s omission from T20 World Cup

The 2021 champions are placed in Group B alongside England, Scotland, Oman, and Namibia. They will kick off their tournament on June 05 by taking on Oman at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Australia squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa