ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Australia names Cooper Connolly as injured Matthew Short’s replacement ahead of semifinal clash against India
Cricket Australia on Sunday announced that all-rounder Cooper Connolly will replace injured Matthew Short in its ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad ahead of the crucial semifinal clash against India, which is set to take place at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Short suffered an injury during the group stage encounter against Afghanistan, and was seen struggling on the field.
The 29-year-old injured his calf while fielding and appeared hampered when making a quickfire 20 at the top of Australia’s batting order before rain saw the match in Lahore being abandoned.
As Shorts’ replacement Australia has added young all-rounder Cooper Connolly to the mix.
The 21-year-old has six international caps to his name, of which three have been ODIs. He’s a left-handed batter, who bowls left-arm spin as well.
The Perth-born cricketer will give Steve Smith another bowling option in Dubai’s spin-friendly wicket if he make it to the playing XI.
Australia Squad:
Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Adam Zampa.
