Marsh did not play in Lucknow Super Giants’ final match of the IPL season against Punjab Kings on Saturday. He flew home to Australia after LSG’s game against Rajasthan Royals on May 19 and he was due to lead Australia in the three-match series in Pakistan starting on May 30, with most of the team arriving in Rawalpindi at the weekend.

But Marsh did not fly to Pakistan due to the ankle issue, having had significant ankle injuries in the past, and he has been ruled out of the Pakistan series entirely. His availability for the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh that starts on June 9, and the subsequent three-match T20I tour that starts on June 17 remains unknown.

Marsh’s absence means Australia have been forced to turn to their fourth-choice ODI captain in Inglis with permanent captain Cummins, and Test joint vice-captain Head missing the series. Inglis has led Australia in an ODI and three T20Is against Pakistan in November 2024. Should Inglis miss any games, Australia also have another captaincy option in Alex Carey who skippered Australia in three ODIs in the Caribbean back in 2021.

Australia are also without Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc in Pakistan. Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis were all left out of the Pakistan series as they were expected to be involved in the IPL playoffs however their team Kings lost six of their last seven matches to miss out.

No replacement for Marsh has been named yet but there is a chance Connolly could be flown to Pakistan early having flown home after the final IPL game.

Connolly, Bartlett, Dwarshuis and Head have been named for the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh that begins on June 9 in Mirpur.

Marsh’s absence at the top of the order is arguably a bigger blow given the outstanding form he showed in the second half of the IPL with LSG where he made scores of 111, 10, 90 and 96 in his last four innings. He finished the tournament as the seventh highest scorer, striking at 163.18, and hit the third-most sixes.

Marsh and Head are locked in as Australia’s first-choice ODI openers heading towards next year’s World Cup. Matt Short was likely to open with Marsh while Head was absent in Pakistan but the selectors will now need a second stand-in opener for the series.

There are a number of players who can do the role but selectors are keen to bed down some middle-order combinations in the build-up to the World Cup next year. There is a chance Carey could be promoted to the top having not done it since 2019 to allow for 19-year-old newcomer Ollie Peake to possibly debut in the middle-order.

Australia squad for ODIs in Pakistan

Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (capt), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Riley Meredith, Ollie Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Matthew Short, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa