Steve Smith will lead the 16-member Australia squad for the upcoming two-match test series against Sri Lanka.
Cricket Australia has recalled Nathan McSweeney and also called Cooper Connolly on Thursday. Meanwhile, skipper Pat Cummins will be missing for the birth of his second child while Josh Hazlewood is rested for the Australia tour of Sri Lanka.
On the other hand, Mitchell Marsh has been excluded from the squad. McSweeney who was dropped from the fourth and fifth tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy where the hosts secured a 3-1 victory to reclaim the series has been returned to the squad.
Thoughts on Australia’s squad for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka? #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/kjEBuBiciM
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 9, 2025
Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy join test Nathan Lyon for the Spin department. “Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with,” selector George Bailey said.
“This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match.”
After an impressive debut in the final test against India in Sydney, all-rounder Beau Webster retains his place over Marsh.
“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,” said Bailey.
The first match of the test series will begin on January 29 at Galle International Stadium.
Australia Squad for Sri Lanka tests: Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
