Sourav Ganguly, Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket, believes Australia should “probably” have picked young opener Jake Fraser-McGurk in their 15-player squad for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
Australia announced their squad earlier this month and a couple of star players didn’t receive their tickets for the marquee event in June.
Veteran batter Steve Smith, Fraser-McGurk, seamer Jason Behrendorff and all-rounder Matt Short were left on the sidelines.
The 22-year-old has taken the Indian Premier League (IPL) by storm in his debut season. During his stint with Delhi Capitals this season, Fraser-McGurk has smashed 330 runs in eight matches at a whopping strike rate of 237.
Ganguly talked about the youngster’s omission and feels that the pool of talent Australia has, it was “obvious” that he would miss out.
“With Ricky around he guided Jake very well. What I like about him is he’s hungry, and he wants to play well. I know he missed out on the World Cup, Australia should have probably picked him, but that’s the way it goes when you have so many good players in David Warner, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh at 3, you will obviously miss out,” Ganguly said before DC’s clash against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
“But he’s just 22 and he has got a long career and I’m sure he will be up and ready. For us, he is a game-changer and that’s what you need in this format. We will see how it goes. Keep it simple and win and then see where it goes,” Ganguly added.
His stint with the Capitals in the cash-rich league marked the first time Fraser-McGurk has played in the sub-continent.
The former India captain went on to laud the young Australian batter for his style of play and the attitude that he has shown in the practice session.
“He has brought a lot on the table, I’m happily surprised with the way he has batted. I think this is his first time in the sub-continent. The attitude has been good which is very important for me, he works hard in the nets, doesn’t miss training, he is there every day, even on optional practice he comes. I see very good things for him in this format,” Ganguly said.
Fraser-McGurk made his international debut for Australia earlier this year. He made his ODI debut for Australia against West Indies in February.