Marcus Stoinis left out of Cricket Australia's central contract

Marcus Stoinis has been left out of the Cricket Australia contracts for the 2024-25 season, the board announced on March 28 (Thursday). However, Xavier Bartlett, who made his debut earlier this year has been included. Nathan Ellis, Matt Short and Aaron Hardie, too, have been included this time. However, they earned upgrades after playing in white-ball cricket for Australia through the season, and as a result, they have been retained for the upcoming season as well.

Stoins, however, remains in contention to play the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies in June. He was dropped mid-way through the ODI World Cup in India last year has not managed to hit a fifty in T20Is October 2022, but has four scores of over 30 in nine innings since then.

David Warner has also been omitted from the contract's list as he has announced his intentions to retire from international cricket after the T20 World Cup. He is, however, expected to be part of the Australian squad for the mega event. Like Warner, Ashton Agar, Marcus Harris and Michael Neser, too, have not made the cut.

“Matt, Aaron and Xavier have been extremely impressive in the early stages of their international careers. Their performances and the way they have embraced the international stage has been exciting to watch," chief selector George Bailey said.

“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.”

Contracted players for 2024-25 season: 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