Australia announce squad for Sri Lanka, Pakistan T20Is

Australia have named a 14-man squad for the home T20I series’ against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Big guns Steve Smith and David Warner return to the fold, but there is no place for the likes of Chris Lynn and D’Arcy Short. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis has also been excluded after failing to impress in the international arena.

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Good performances at the domestic level have earned the likes of Ben McDermott, Ashton Agar, Ashton Turner and Billy Stanlake a call-up. Mitchell Starc will lead the pace bowling unit while the selectors have continued to keep faith in Adam Zampa as the lead spinner in the format. Glenn Maxwell also gets another opportunity despite his woeful performances during the World Cup.

On Warner and Smith’s comeback to the squad, chief selector Trevor Hohns said:

“We are delighted to welcome Steve Smith and David Warner back into the Twenty20 International fold. Steve is a world-class batsman in all formats, while Warner is Australia’s highest ever T20I runs-scorer. He was also the leading runs-scorer at this year’s Indian Premier League with Sunrisers Hyderabad. The squad we have selected is quite role-specific and we believe it gives us the flexibility to thrive in all match conditions.”

Hohns also revealed that the squad was picked keeping the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2020 which will be hosted by Australia in mind:

“It is almost a year to the day until Australia hosts the men’s Twenty20 World Cup and we have selected this squad with that in mind. We have looked to put a squad together that we think can take us through to that tournament.”

The three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka will start on October 27 and take place in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. The T20Is against Pakistan will begin on November 3 and will take place in Sydney, Canberra and Perth.

Squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa.