NEW DELHI: Australia coach Andrew McDonald has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to increase the size of the World Cup squad from 15 to 17 players for the 2027 ODI World Cup. His comments come after the ICC introduced a new format that could see the finalists play up to 15 matches, making the tournament longer and more physically demanding.McDonald believes the bigger squads will help teams deal with injuries and changing playing conditions, especially after Australia and New Zealand struggled with injured players during the 2023 World Cup.“One of the big things from my perspective is if it’s going to be your pinnacle event, what do your squad sizes look like? We had the dilemma of what it looked like to have a squad of 15 players for the last World Cup,” said McDonald.He pointed out that players like Travis Head and Kane Williamson have missed games due to injuries, leaving teams with limited selection options.“My take on it, any time you’re playing multiple games in the same period of time, you don’t want it to be attrition,” he added. “You want the best players to be available. So, there should be a conversation around – yeah, that’s great, you’ve landed in it, okay, what about squad sizes?”McDonald also said the bigger squads would help teams manage injuries during a busy international schedule and ensure the biggest stars remain available throughout the tournament.“So, we bring the best players in there. It gives us bigger teams to be able to navigate the first part, and then hopefully the pinnacle event has the best players playing, rather than being ruled out early due to injury and the attritional nature of a World Cup,” he added.He also questioned the new format, saying the associated nations may have fewer opportunities despite their recent growth in white-ball cricket.“It’s an interesting structure for a tournament. I think the Associated nations are probably penalized a bit in this,” he added.