Dismissing concerns of not being match fit, Australia fast bowler John Hastings has admitted that he was shocked to have been omitted from the ODI squad for upcoming three-match series against New Zealand beginning from December 4 in Sydney.
"I was very disappointed. I was initially pretty shocked to be honest," cricket.com.au quoted Hastings as saying of his omission.
The 31-year-old is the world's leading wicket-taker in ODIs this year, level with England's Adil Rashid, having notched up a total of 29 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 24.
However, Hastings was surprisingly not included in the Australia's 14-man squad taking on the Kane Williamson-led side next month, with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood , Patrick Cummins and James Faulkner all being named for the series.
Hasting, who was out of action for the past month due to a finger injury, insisted he is 100 percent fit at the moment while adding that his performances in Sri Lanka this year were enough to prove that he is capable of playing in any series.
"I thought my performances over the last 12 months have stacked up and in my mind I'm 100 per cent fit. I know I haven't played a lot of cricket, but five-and-a-half months without playing cricket and going over to Sri Lanka without playing a game (and performing well), it didn't really stack up for me," he said of the Lanka tour, where he grabbed nine wickets at an average of 12 despite a long absence from the game due to an ankle injury.
The right-armer, however, remained adamant to prove the national selectors wrong in the coming future.
"I've taken the most one-day international wickets in the world this year, so obviously, I'm disappointed not to be there. But if they think those guys can do a better job, that's fair enough. I can cop that. I've just got to go back and try and prove people wrong again," Hastings said.
Hastings has been a revelation for Australia since returning to the ODI squad against England last year after an absence of more than four years.
Since his recall, Hastings has taken 32 wickets in 17 matches he played so far, including his career-best figures of 6-45 against Sri Lanka in August.
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