Watch: Australia's T20 captain Mitchell Marsh says there are no favourites at upcoming World Cup

Mitchell Marsh, newly appointed as Australia's T20 captain, shared his insights ahead of the highly anticipated World Cup, emphasizing the open nature of the competition. Marsh, who leads the team into the upcoming tournament in the West Indies and USA, highlighted that up to seven teams have a realistic chance of claiming the title, dismissing the notion of any clear favorites.

Australia is on a mission to reclaim the T20 World Cup title they captured in 2021 and achieve a rare feat by holding both the 50-over and T20 World Cup titles simultaneously—a distinction only England has managed so far. Marsh's leadership comes at a crucial time as Australia aims to build on their success in global cricket.

During his media address, Marsh expressed pride in his new role. "Ah yeah, no shock just really proud. It's not every day you get to captain Australia and lead them to a World Cup so that's very exciting but I think one of the best things about our team is that we've got a lot of great leaders that will lead our group and give it our best shot," he said, acknowledging the collective leadership within the squad.

The selection of the 15-man squad has sparked discussions, notably due to the exclusion of Steve Smith and up-and-coming batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk. Addressing these decisions, Marsh remarked, "Any time there's a World Cup team picked, there's only 15 (players) and some guys have to miss out but I think we've got a really great squad that we've picked, we've got a lot of versatility, a lot of experience and that brings a lot of excitement."

Another focal point of his discussion was the impending retirement of David Warner from World Cup competitions. Marsh praised Warner's vast experience and crucial role in pivotal matches. "Yeah, it's been a long last hurrah for Davey hasn't it? I mean all the boys are really excited to have him in the team, just the experience he brings. I think if you look back at his career, there's been so many big moments that you need your big, experienced players to stand up (for) and Davey's always been one of those. so yeah, we're lucky to have him," he explained.

When questioned about Australia's status as favorites, Marsh offered a grounded perspective. "The favouritism stuff is always interesting to me. I think if you look at this tournament now and you look at all the teams around the world, I don't there can be a favourite. There's probably five, six, seven teams that can win it and we know that within tournament play it's all about getting things right at the right time and winning big moments. So that will be a big focus for us."

Discussing potential scoring trends, Marsh speculated on the evolution of gameplay, especially in the powerplay, acknowledging that conditions in the West Indies could differ significantly from those in India, which might influence scoring. "Yeah, I think I'd only be speculating around that but there's no doubt that some of the scores in the IPL have been incredible and yeah, I'm not sure I'd be lining up to bowl in the future over there. But the game is evolving and the game is moving forward, teams are going harder in the powerplay and that's been a real trend. But it's about getting on the ground, assessing conditions over in the West Indies that can sometimes be very different to what we face in India. So yeah, we'll play it as we see it."

Watch: India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar answers why Rinku Singh was left out of T20 World Cup squad