Cricket Australia drops David Warner, Marcus Stoinis from 2024-25 central contracts list

NEW DELHI: On Thursday, all-rounders Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis were removed from Cricket Australia's list of centrally-contracted players for the 2024-25 season, along with veteran opener David Warner, who has retired from ODI and Test cricket.

Moreover, contracts that were extended to 23 players were not offered to Victoria opener Marcus Harris or pacer Michael Neser, according to a story published on 'cricket.com.au'.

Australia will have a busy season ahead of them, including a home Test series against India towards the close of the year and the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June.

Warner's exclusion was anticipated because he plans to retire from the game following the Twenty20 World Cup. He is playing for the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League right now.

The most noteworthy exclusion is Stoinis. Despite missing Australia's recent tour of New Zealand due to a back ailment, the 34-year-old, who is presently playing for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League, is still in the running for the T20 World Cup.

Xavier Bartlett of the Pacers and Nathan Ellis are two players who have received their first contract offer.

Bartlett (25) and Ellis (29) are the four new faces on this year's core contract list, along with Matt Short (28), a batter for the Victoria and Adelaide Strikers, and Aaron Hardie (25) an all-rounder from Western Australia.

The four players have already made their international debut for Australia.

Short and Hardie made their debuts during last year's T20 series in South Africa, while Ellis played in Australia's ODI and T20I tour of South Africa, and T20 campaigns in India and New Zealand.

He, however, missed the home white-ball series against the West Indies due to a rib injury.

"Matt, Aaron and Xavier have been extremely impressive in the early stages of their international careers," national selection chair George Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au

"Their performances and the way they have embraced the international stage has been exciting to watch.

"The panel believes they have strong futures and are deserved of their contracts as they work towards striving to become regulars in the Australian setup."

CA contracted men's players 2024-25: Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.

(With PTI inputs)


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