Australia face setback as star batter injured ahead of CT 2025 semi-final

Australia are likely to reshuffle their batting lineup for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final after their opening batter Matt Short sustained an injury in the side’s game against Afghanistan.

The right-handed batter hurt his calf while fielding against Afghanistan in Friday’s game.

The third and final group-stage game between the two sides was abandoned and Australia qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final. They will face either India or New Zealand in their final four contest.

While Matt Short came out to bat and scored quick 20 runs, he looked hampered and found it hard to get going.

Following the game, Australia captain Steve Smith said that the opening batter might miss the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final due to his injury.

“I think he’ll be struggling. I think we saw tonight he wasn’t moving very well and I think it’s probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover,” he said in a post-match talk.

Young batter Jake Fraser-McGurk will likely replace Matt Short in case he fails to recover from his injury before the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final.

Steve Smith was confident of the abundance of batters in the squad to replace the opening batter if needed for the finals.

“We’ve got a few guys there to come in to fill a job and we are looking forward to that,” he said.

Apart from Jake Fraser-McGurk, Australia have all-rounders Sean Abbott and Aaron Hardie in the 15-player squad who could replace Matt Short.

Australia Champions Trophy 2025 squad:

Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.

Travelling reserve: Cooper Connolly.