Australia's campaign in the ICC World Cup 2023 has taken an unforeseen hit with the abrupt departure of their key all-rounder, Mitch Marsh.
In-form Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh left for home on Thursday due to personal reasons for an indefinite period, dealing yet another blow to the team, already hit by Glenn Maxwell's unavailability for the next World Cup match against England due to concussion.
Marsh could be out of the whole tournament as Cricket Australia did not give any timeline for his return.
"A timeline on his return to the squad is to be confirmed," the CA said in a statement.
In Marsh's absence, Cameron Green could be drafted into the team for the match against arch-rivals England in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Fit again team-mate Marcus Stoinis, however, gave hopes that Marsh could return to India for the World Cup.
"He's got a family issue going on and like we all know, family is very important, the most important really," Stoinis told reporters on Thursday.
"He's doing the right thing and he's getting home and he's seeing the people he needs to see. I don't think there's a timeline on when he's coming back, but I'm sure he'll do what he needs to do at home and then get back," he said.
Stoinis said Marsh told him before departing for home that he would be "coming back to win this World Cup".
"He sent me a message last night saying, 'I'll be home for a little bit and then I'm coming back to win this World Cup' so that speaks to his mindset. I joked with him that he just passes the overs back to me now - and ‘thanks for that'. You know that the bases are covered, but we will miss him, and he'll be back soon."
"You miss him off the field – in terms of his energy and his personality around the team as much as we're going to miss him on the field – but you can pretty much see how the team's going to line-up (without him)."
Australia have already lost fellow all-rounder Maxwell for Saturday's clash against England due to concussion after a freak injury on a golf course, and the absence of Marsh adds further intrigue as the five-time World Cup champions chase a place in the knockout stages of the tournament.
Alex Carey, Sean Abbott, Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green will come into contention to replace Maxwell and Marsh for the match with England, while spinner Tanveer Sangha is travelling with the team as a reserve.
Australia are not allowed to bring in a player from outside their squad to temporarily replace Marsh. Under tournament rules, only an injury (or another reason approved by the ICC) would allow Marsh to then come back in.
Australia do have the option of replacing Marsh should the all-rounder miss the remainder of the tournament, but all replacement players need to be approved by the Event Technical Committee.
Marsh has scored 225 runs and taken two wickets so far in the ongoing World Cup, with his best of 121 with the bat against Pakistan in Bengaluru.
