While Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni among others, arrived at Dambulla for the first ODI against hosts Sri Lanka, Cricket Australia (CA) announced their 14-player one-day international squad and 13-player T20 international squad for the upcoming India vs Australia series from 17th September to 13th October.
Australia will play 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is in India and this will be their first Indian tour after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that India won by 2-1. James Faulkner (ODIs) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (ODIs and T20I) has been recalled to the squad while spearhead pacer Mitchell Starc has been rested as he is yet to fully recover from a right foot injury.
Along with Mitchell Starc, all rounder Moises Henriques, John Hastings, Chris Lynn and James Pattinson will also miss Australia’s limited-overs as well as Twenty20 tours of India starting next month.
Allrounders Ashton Agar and Hilton Cartwright have also been selected for the India vs Australia and while Agar has played two ODIs against England in 2015, Cartwright, despite being selected in the ODI squad against New Zealand last year, is yet to be capped at the level.
As for Faulkner, who was the player of the match in the 2015 World Cup final, he was surprisingly left out of the squad for the Champions Trophy earlier this year, but his experience in the subcontinent has helped him earn this recall.
Coulter-Nile, on the other hand, whose career has been plagued by serious injuries in recent years, will get a chance to add more experience to his 16 ODI tally having shown impressive signs in the 10th edition of Indian Premier League earlier this year.
Australia ODI squad: Steve Smith, David Warner, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Hilton Cartwright, Patrick Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa, Matthew Wade.
T20I squad: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Moises Henriques, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson.
The schedule, as well as venues for the India vs Australia series, are yet to be confirmed by BCCI, but according to media reports, Chennai, Bengaluru, Indore, Nagpur, and Kolkata will host the five-match ODI series while Hyderabad, Ranchi, and Guwahati will host the T20Is.
As for Virat Kohli’s men, they will be looking to end the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka on a good note after whitewashing the hosts for the first time in a test series. While BCCI is yet to announce its squad for the India vs Australia series, selectors might be looking for some hints in the ongoing series before announcing the squad against Australia.