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Setback for Lucknow Super Giants Before IPL 2024 As Marcus Stoinis Ruled Out of New Zealand Tour Due to Injury
Setback for Lucknow Super Giants Before IPL 2024 As Marcus Stoinis Ruled Out of New Zealand Tour Due to Injury
The forthcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand will not feature Marcus Stoinis. Due to a back injury, the seasoned Australian all-rounder will miss the final T20 International match for the 2021 winners before the T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
It is believed that Stoinis injured his back during the warm-up prior to last Sunday’s (February 11) second Twenty20 international match against the West Indies in Adelaide. Despite the injury, the player participated in the match and scored 16 runs off of 5 balls in a cameo before going 3 for 36 in Australia’s victory
The cricketer has been ruled out of the New Zealand T20Is completely as team management and selectors give the white-ball specialist a few extra weeks to fully recover ahead of the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup. However, after making the lengthy flight to Perth, the cricketer missed Tuesday’s series finale in Western Australia.
The backup all-rounder Aaron Hardie, who is presently engrossed with Sheffield Safeguard obligations for Western Australia against Tasmania, has been called up by the selectors to fill in for Stoinis. Hardie didn’t fly with the group on Saturday (February 17), however he will be accessible to join the visiting bunch by Sunday.
Stoinis’ Crucial Role in Australia’s T20I
Stoinis, who hasn’t played for Australia in the One-Day team since the ICC World Cup 2023, is essential to the team’s T20I preparations for the T20 World Cup since the selectors are still concerned about the workload that fellow utility all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell will take on in the starting XI.He was a member of the team that won the 2021 T20I World Cup. He blasted a half-century during an outstanding innings in the 2022 T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka.
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The 34-year-old has played for Australia in 59 Twenty20 Internationals, scoring runs at a strike rate of 145.06 and aiming for an efficient 8.64 fifth-bowling option economy rate. The Australian team will suffer from Stoinis’s exclusion. He was a vital member of the team even though he was left off of the ODI World Cup 2023 roster.
However, there is still concern about his injury for both the national team and his career. Conversely, following their rest during the West Indies series, Steven Smith and Travis Head both rejoin the T20I team for the New Zealand tour.
