Jake Fraser-McGurk in huge World Cup development after uproar over selection call

Jake Fraser-McGurk has been named as a reserve batsman for Australia's upcoming Twenty20 World Cup on the back of his scintillating form in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The big-hitter was initially overlooked for Australia's T20 World Cup squad in a move that left many fans shocked as he is one of the most devastating ball strikers in world cricket.

But Fraser-McGurk's eye-catching T20 scoring has since been recognised with a reserve slot, while versatile Matt Short will be Australia's other travelling emergency. Chair of selectors George Bailey says the duo will travel with the previously announced 15-man squad for the tournament in the West Indies and United States starting next month.

"Matt and Jake made compelling cases for initial selection with their respective performances for Australia last summer and, in Jake's case, more recently in the IPL," Bailey said on Tuesday. "As the tournament proceeds, the short turnaround between fixtures makes it challenging to get players in at short notice in the event of injury.

"Matt provides the squad with an all-round skillset option while Jake provides further batting cover. Both players have exciting talents that can add to the squad if needed. If not, the experience will still be valuable in their respective development journeys at international level."

Fraser-McGurk has been in irresistible form in 2024. He stunned home fans when he debuted for Australia and smashed 41 runs off 18 balls against the West Indies earlier this year. He then took the IPL by storm, racking up a whopping 330 runs, including four half-centuries at a stunning strike rate of 234 for the Delhi Capitals.

With Delhi teammate and Aussie veteran David Warner out of form, Fraser-McGurk was presented with his opportunity in the IPL. After impressing down the order, Capitals coach Ricky Ponting moved Fraser-McGurk up the order in place of Warner. The 22-year-old took that chance with both hands, launching many of the world's best bowlers over the rope, with an average of more than 2 runs a ball throughout his IPL campaign.

And with Aussie skipper Mitch Marsh battling a hamstring injury and Warner a thumb injury as well as struggling to find form, fans were urging Bailey to include Fraser-McGurk's in the World Cup squad and the chief selector has listened.

Jake Fraser-McGurk's classy response to initial snub

Despite the majority of the cricket world being up in arms that he was initially snubbed from Australia's T20 World Cup squad, Fraser-McGurk gave a classy response to his initial World Cup omission, insisting he was "fine" with the omission. Bailey said Fraser-McGurk missed out on the initial squad because the top order was already set with Warner, Marsh and Travis Head, while other batters in the middle order offered greater flexibility. And Fraser-McGurk understood where Bailey was coming from and praised the batters picked ahead of him.

"There are two ways you can look at it. You can look at it through, ‘This is what I’ve done to prove my case,’ and then there’s also, ‘Look, a month and a half ago I wasn’t even in the picture,’ " Fraser-McGurk told Adam Peacock on the Willow Talk podcast earlier this month. "They (the selectors) probably had a good idea of what it was a month-and-a-half ago.

"You’ve got David Warner, our best opener ever in three formats. You’ve got Travis Head, who’s lighting it up over here and has lit up for the past 18 months. And then Mitch Marsh is the same and he’s also the captain. I can’t really see myself batting five or six because we’re pretty set there with Timmy David, Cam Green those sort of blokes. So that’s the way I think about it. That’s fine. There’s hopefully going to be more time for that."

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Australia's full T20 World Cup squad

Mitchell Marsh (capt), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Reserves: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk.

with AAP