AUS vs IND: Australia forced to add Marnus Labuschagne to ODI squad against India after injury to star all-rounder

Australia suffered a major blow ahead of their ODI series against India after all-rounder Cameron Green was ruled out with a side strain. The development came just two days before the start of the first ODI at Perth’s Optus Stadium on October 19. Cricket Australia announced in-form batsman Marnus Labuschagne as a replacement. The injury to Green was assessed as “low grade”, but Cricket Australia did not want to take any chances with the Ashes series against England, which is just six weeks away, in mind. “Cameron Green has been ruled out of the (India) series because he experienced low-grade side pain during training this week,” Cricket Australia said. “Green will complete a short period of rehabilitation and is looking to return to play in the third round of the Sheffield Shield to continue his preparation for the Ashes.” What does Cameron Green’s loss mean for Australia? Labuschagne was initially not part of the three-match ODI squad against India. But the selectors could not think of anyone else after his scorching form in the domestic circuit. In his last four innings, Labuschagne scored three hundreds for Queensland, including two in the ODI Cup. The other century came in a Sheffield Shield match. Labuschagne will join the Australian one-day squad once the current Sheffield Shield round is over on Saturday. Green’s absence meant Australia would miss out on the all-rounder’s seam bowling. After undergoing spinal surgery, Green played as a pure batsman during losses to South Africa and the West Indies tour. He began bowling workloads in London in June ahead of the World Test Championship final. Green is the third substitution Australia have made against India after Josh Philippe replaced wicket-keeper Josh Inglis (remains recovering from a calf strain) and Matthew Kuhnemann came in for Adam Zampa (ruled out due to family reasons.) India v Australia ODIs 2025 Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Connollys, Benthan D Ellishuis, Benthan D Ellishuis, Josh. Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc. Match two onwards: Adam Zampa, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis India: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh Krish, Prasid Singh, Prasid Singh Krish, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal