Marsh returns to lead Australia against West Indies

Cricket Australia (CA) on Wednesday announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against the West Indies, set to begin next month.

Uncapped players Mitchell Owen and Matt Kuhnemann have received their first international call-ups.

Notably, promising young batter Jake Fraser-McGurk has been left out of the squad. Despite featuring in seven of Australia's last eight T20Is, Fraser-McGurk has managed just one half-century and failed to cross 20 runs in each of his other six innings.

Xavier Bartlett and Marcus Stoinis have also been omitted.

Mitchell Owen earned his spot after a stellar Big Bash League (BBL) season, where he finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 452 runs in 11 matches at an average of 45.20 and a remarkable strike-rate of 203.6.

His explosive 108 off 42 balls in the final led the Hobart Hurricanes to the title and earned him the Player of the Match award.

Mitchell Marsh will captain the side following a prolific IPL season, where he amassed 627 runs in 13 innings for the Lucknow Super Giants, including his maiden century in the tournament.

Veteran all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who recently retired from ODI cricket, retains his place in the T20 squad. Tim David also returns after missing the latter part of the IPL season with champions Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly make their comebacks following brief injury layoffs, while Josh Hazlewood is back after being rested for the recent T20I series against Pakistan.

Australia have opted to rest key players Pat Cummins, Travis Head, and Mitchell Starc for the T20Is, with the series beginning in Jamaica on July 19—immediately after the conclusion of the three-match Test series.

Chair of Selectors George Bailey emphasised the importance of squad depth and experimentation ahead of the T20 World Cup.

"We have a busy T20 schedule coming up through this series, followed by three against South Africa and New Zealand and five matches against India at home as we continue to refine and build a squad we think will be the right fit for the World Cup on the subcontinent," Chair of Selectors George Bailey said.

"There are a number of players outside the squad who can still force their way into the mix for those upcoming Indian Series and through the Big Bash.

"The connection, role development and combinations we will have as options are growing nicely as we build towards the World Cup. It's an exciting time in our T20 space," he added.

Australia T20I squad: Mitchell Marsh (C), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.