Hobart: Cricket Australia on Thursday revealed that Mitchell Marsh has tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the T20I series opener against West Indies at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. He will still feature in line with protocols and lead the side in the first T20I scheduled to start on Friday.
The Board has also mentioned that the Australian skipper will not share the dressing room with his teammates and will maintain some distance from the other players during the match.
Australian Cricket Board announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote, “Australia T20 skipper Mitchell Marsh has tested positive to COVID-19 but will still play in tomorrow’s first T20 against the Windies (West Indies) in Hobart, in line with CA (Cricket Australia) protocols. Marsh will use a separate dressing room during the match and stay distanced while on the field.”
Marsh is all set to captain his national side for the first time in his career. His leadership role remains intact with him being announced as skipper for the three-match series against New Zealand, starting from February 9. Notably, this is the last T20I series before the highly awaited 2024 T20 World Cup and the tournament will be held in the West Indies and USA in June this year. And hence, it is highly anticipated that the prolific all-rounder will captain Australia in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Earlier, all-rounder Cameron Green appeared in the second Test and wicket-keeper batter Josh Inglis featured in the first ODI of the three-match series against West Indies despite testing positive for Covid-19.
Marsh has amassed 1272 runs in 49 T20I matches for Australia including eight half-centuries. He had played a pivotal role for Australia in their first T20I World Cup title win in 2021, winning the Player of the Match award for his crucial 77-run knock in the final.
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