Inglis to captain depleted Australia after Marsh ankle injury

Josh Inglis was handed the captaincy after Mitchell Marsh’s ankle injury forced Australia into another reset before a ball was bowled in Pakistan. Marsh will remain in Perth for further assessment and treatment, leaving Inglis to lead a three-match ODI series that now says as much about Australia’s depth chart as it does about the scoreboard.

Australia’s XI for the tour was already missing much of its established fast-bowling core. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out in Cricket Australia’s May 11 squad announcement because of IPL playoff commitments and tour planning, while Travis Head was also unavailable. Marsh’s withdrawal removed the player initially intended to captain the white-ball trip and, in practical terms, stripped the side of the experienced top-order all-rounder around whom selectors had expected to build.

The calendar adds pressure to the decision-making. Australia open the Pakistan ODI series in Rawalpindi on May 30, then play in Lahore on June 2 and June 4. The Bangladesh leg follows quickly after, with ODIs in Dhaka on June 9, June 11 and June 14, before T20Is in Chattogram on June 17, June 19 and June 21. Marsh’s availability for that next assignment is still to be determined, leaving Australia to manage one disruption before the next arrives.

Marsh’s absence matters beyond the captaincy change. He had been in strong form in the Indian Premier League, scoring 563 runs from 13 matches at a strike rate of 163.18, and was expected to open with Head before the injury intervened. Without him, Australia lose both a power-hitting bat and a seam-bowling option, which narrows their flexibility against Pakistan and complicates the balance of the side.

Inglis is not being thrown in completely cold. He captained Australia in limited-overs matches against Pakistan in November 2024, and that stint offered an early lesson in the demands of the role. Keeping wicket while managing the field brought added pressure, and he was warned twice in Perth for slow over restarts. Alex Carey remains another possible fallback if Australia need further cover, but the immediate message is clear: this tour is a leadership stress test as much as a cricket series.

Selection chair George Bailey has already framed the broader picture. When Australia named the tour squad on May 11, he said the absences would create opportunities for younger players and that development across different conditions would remain a focus over the next 18 months to two years. With Oliver Peake, Liam Scott, Riley Meredith, Matthew Kuhnemann, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Billy Stanlake, Matt Short, Cameron Green and Adam Zampa among those in the squad, the trip to Pakistan and Bangladesh has become a live examination of Australia’s bench strength and succession planning ahead of the next World Cup cycle.