Australia has announced its squad for the upcoming T20I series against India, with Western Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie and Kane Richardson being called up. David Warner has been given a break after the ODI World Cup and will not be part of the squad.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc have also been withdrawn from the squad, along with allrounders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh. Warner had an outstanding performance at the ODI World Cup, scoring 535 runs at 48.63. The upcoming Pakistan series will be his final stage in Test cricket as he has earmarked the SCG in early January for his retirement from the format.
The Australian squad now includes seven players who featured during the World Cup, plus Tanveer Sangha, who was a travelling reserve throughout. The side will be led by Matthew Wade although Marsh, who captained them to a 3-0 victory against South Africa in September, is the favourite for the role on a permanent basis. There will also be a stand-in coach for the series with Andre Borovec taking charge as Andrew McDonald returns home ahead of the summer.
The T20I series gets underway in Visakhapatnam on Thursday as part of Australia’s build-up to next year’s T20 tournament in West Indies and the USA. The squad includes Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis and Kane Richardson as bowlers while Adam Zampa is included as a legspinner.