India vs Australia: Ricky Ponting backs Jake Fraser-McGurk as Matt Short’s replacement for Champions Trophy semi-final | Cricket News – The Times of India

Australia have to fill a spot on the high of the order for their semi-final towards India on Tuesday, after a quadriceps damage dominated out Matthew Short for the rest of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Former captain Ricky Ponting has declared he would again huge-hitting teenager Jake Fraser-McGurk to fit in as Short’s replacement for Australia’s semi-final conflict towards India.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Short picked up a quad damage in Australia’s group match towards Afghanistan. His absence promotes touring reserve Cooper Connolly into the squad. The West Australian, like Short, is a robust hitter and a succesful off-spin bowler, proving to be a like-for-like replacement.
While left-armer Connolly presents all-spherical worth, Ponting is placing his religion in Fraser-McGurk.

“He can slot straight into that position,” Ponting stated in The ICC Review. “That’s the way I would probably go — just hope he has one of his days. In must-win games like these, you need to throw caution to the wind.”
Fraser-McGurk is understood for his explosive batting within the shorter codecs. He has featured in seven ODIs for Australia, placing at 132, although his returns have been inconsistent, averaging simply 14 with a high rating of 41.
Ponting believes Fraser-McGurk’s attacking mindset may show decisive. “He’s the sort of player that, if you back him, he might just be good enough to win a big game for you.”
Ponting additionally floated various choices, together with changes throughout the current XI. “They could move Steve Smith up to open. He’s done a terrific job in T20 cricket in recent years and plays fast bowling well. That could help negate the new ball threat and get through to the middle overs.”

Another chance is wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis. “They could put Inglis up there and leave someone like Connolly in the middle order, adding a left-hander and another spin option.”
Despite these choices, Ponting stays agency on Fraser-McGurk, citing his blistering IPL 2024 efficiency, the place he struck at 234 throughout 9 innings.
“He’s probably been a little disappointed with his output in the last six months,” Ponting admitted. “But this might just be the game where he can do something… like he did in the IPL with the Delhi Capitals last season.”