Cooper Connolly has been called into Australia's side in the ongoing Champions Trophy as a replacement for Matthew Short. The Australia opener was ruled out of the team's semi-final clash against India due to injury. Connolly, who was a reserve player in the squad, will pretty much be in the playing XI as Australia prepares to ace the spin challenge on a sluggish Dubai surface in the first semis to be played on Tuesday, March 4.
For the unversed, Short suffered an injury during Australia's last group-stage match against Afghanistan. The opening batter did not have enough time to recover for the knockout matches of CT. Connolly, who is an all-rounder and a good player of spin, will give Australia depth in the batting and bowling department. The 21-year-old has so far played three ODIs and could now team up with Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell as the third spinner in the team against India.
Apart from Connolly, Australia also has an option of replacing Short with opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, or spinner Tanveer Sangha. Both these players have yet to play a game in CT. Fraser-McGurk, who burst into the scene as an explosive opening batter, has so far failed to live up to the expectations. In the seven ODIs, he has only scored 98 runs. If the youngster is not selected as a replacement for Short owing to his form, then Australia can promote Josh Inglis to the top and slot Connolly in the middle order.
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For the uninitiated, New Zealand failed to ace the spin challenge against India in their last group-stage match on March 2 in Dubai. Australia, who reached Dubai on March 1 to get acclimatized to the conditions, would be hoping to outfox India. However, the task won't be easy as Australia were recently blanked 2-0 in ODIs in Sri Lanka on spin-friendly surfaces. The last time Australia faced India in a knockout match was the ODI World Cup final in 2023. Â
