Australia confirmed a 16-man squad for their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which starts on January 29. Steve Smith, a right-hand batsman, has been named the team’s interim captain.
Smith will be the team’s leader while Pat Cummins is out on paternity leave and recovering from a minor ankle injury sustained during the recent home summer.
Former Australia U19 Cricket World Cup captain Cooper Connolly has been called up to the Test team for the first time, and Nathan McSweeney, another young player, has been called up despite missing the Melbourne and Sydney Tests in the most recent Border-Gavaskar Series.
The tourists also welcome back spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy, while Josh Hazlewood will be missed due to a calf injury, and Mitchell Marsh will be missed as the side concentrates on the ICC Champions Trophy.
People who were suggested as possible tour participants, such as Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa, and Peter Handscomb, were not chosen.
George Bailey, the Australian chair of selectors, claims that the particular difficulties of playing in Sri Lanka allow up-and-coming players to make an impression for their nation in red-ball action.
“Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with. This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match,” George Bailey said as quoted by the ICC official website.
“We are excited about the opportunity ahead for the squad members who are at the start of their Test careers to continue to grow their games in subcontinent conditions where we have a number of important tours in coming years,” former Australia skipper added.
Even though the two games are part of the 2023–2025 World Test Championship cycle, Australia (63.73% of available points) and South Africa (69.44% of possible points) are locked into the top two slots, meaning that the final spots are already taken.
In defence of the World Test Championship trophy, the Australians will take on South Africa at Lord’s starting on June 11. The Proteas secured their place with a victory over Pakistan in late 2024.
Sri Lanka Test series v Australia:
January 29 to February 2 – Galle.
February 6 to February 10 – Galle.
Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.