Chairman of Selectors for Australia, George Bailey announced the national squad for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka starting February 11 in Sydney. While big-hitting Ben McDermott has been rewarded for his brilliant showing in the Big Bash League 2021-22, Mitchell Marsh and David Warner have been rested for the match series to prepare for the Pakistan tour that follows.
McDermott leads the BBL run list with 577 runs at a strike rate of 153.86 in only 13 innings. In fact, the 27-year-old also became the first player in the league’s history to hit back to back hundreds.
Apart from McDermott, Jhye Richardson, Travis Head and Moises Henriques have also been rewarded for their good showing throughout the summer while Josh Hazlewood, who missed out on most of the Ashes action due to side strain has been selected to get match practise before the Pakistan tour.
Head coach Justin Langer has also taken planned leave to refresh before the Pakistan tour and Assistant coach Andrew McDonald will act as interim head coach for this series.
“This squad will begin preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup defence at home later this year, and includes several players who have an early chance to impress in these five matches against a quality opposition,” Bailey said in a press release.
Australia Squad
Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Josh Inglis, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa