Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Harris have been omitted from the Australian squad announced by Cricket Australia for its tour to Sri Lanka. There were reports of Maxwell making his comeback to the Australian side in white after almost 5 years. However, the squad announcement has ensured that those rumours were completely false.
On the other hand, Marcus Harris has been axed from the squad after considering Usman Khawaja’s excellent form against Pakistan in the previous series. With his monumental effort against Pakistan, Khwaja has stolen the spot from Marcus Harris.
Cricket Australia announced a 16 players squad for the tour to Sri Lanka. Mitchell Swepson, who made his debut in the tour to Pakistan, is included in the team travelling to Sri Lanka. The veteran spinner Nathan Lyon is also part of the set-up even after having an ordinary run against Pakistan.
Cameron Green is selected as the first all-rounder, and Mitchell Marsh also found a place in the squad as Green’s backup. Bowling all-rounder Ashton Agar has also sealed his spot in the team. With Lyon, Swepson and Agar, the Australian squad will be travelling with three frontline spin options.
Cricket Australia national selector George Bailey has reiterated the importance of the upcoming T20 World Cup. He called that white-ball specialists like Maxwell should stick to the shoter-format of the game until the T20 World Cup culminates. Maxwell will be featuring in the Australian team in the shorter formats against Sri Lanka.
Australia will play a total of 11 games, including 2 Tests, 3 T20is and 5 ODIs, on the tour to Sri Lanka. Due to his family commitments, Adam Zampa has been dropped from the Australian squad in shorter formats.
Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins won’t feature in the T20is to ensure he is fully fit for the ODIs and Tests. Aaron Finch will lead the side in shorter formats of the game.
New faces like Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy and Tanveer Sangha are presented with their first opportunity via the Australian A squad. If they can impress in their stint, they can be considered for a national call-up in future.
Here is the full Australian squad for the tour to Sri Lanka:
T20is: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner, Matthew Wade
ODIs: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
Tests: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
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