Australia has added Ollie Peake and Todd Murphy to its ODI squad for Bangladesh, while Travis Head and Mitch Marsh will miss the three-match series in Dhaka. Josh Inglis will captain a side that is being reshaped for the tour after the selectors kept Matt Short on for the ODIs as well.
The changes matter now because Australia is heading into a series that had been expected to include two of its first-choice white-ball openers. Instead, the 2023 ODI world champs will arrive in Bangladesh without Head, who has been granted personal leave for the ODI and T20I legs of the trip, and without Marsh, who is still working back to full fitness from an ankle injury.
Peake’s selection is the most eye-catching. The 19-year-old toured Pakistan only because Australia wanted to widen the net for the subcontinent, and he made his international debut there after playing just six List A matches before the tour. In Lahore, he showed enough poise to score 31 from 31 balls in Australia’s second ODI win while batting at No.7, a useful reminder that he is still very early in his career but already being trusted in pressure games.
Murphy’s recall gives Australia another spin option and could bring his first appearance in limited-overs cricket. He comes in after Tanveer Sangha picked up a hamstring injury in Lahore, a setback that forced a shuffle even before the squad was finalised for Bangladesh. Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis have also joined as planned, while Billy Stanlake and Riley Meredith were the pace options moved out; Meredith is due back for the T20Is.
There is a practical reason for Australia’s approach. Short, who was initially named only for the Pakistan ODIs, stays on after contributing in that series with a half-century in the first game and four wickets with his off-spin across the final two matches. Peake was also originally included only for Pakistan, but his brief tour has now earned him another chance in a format that often asks young batters to adapt quickly.
Inglis has already framed the assignment as part of the learning curve for the newcomers. He said it was a great experience for them and told Peake that there are few tougher conditions for an Australian batter than the subcontinent. That assessment is harder to ignore with Head and Marsh unavailable and the opening balance unsettled before the first ball is bowled.
Australia had initially hoped Marsh would be available for the Bangladesh ODIs, but the ankle injury has pushed that possibility back. He will join the group in Dhaka and begin preparing for the T20I series, while a replacement for Head in that shorter format has not yet been announced. For now, the ODI squad is set, and the most interesting question in Dhaka is how long Australia can keep its shape without the senior names it expected to have.
