Australia names Test squad for Sri Lanka tour; Steve Smith to lead

Cricket Australia has named a strong Test squad for the upcoming two-match tour of Sri Lanka. Uncapped young all-rounder Cooper Connolly, who bowls left-arm orthodox, is the new name in the 16-man squad. 

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Uncapped players Sean Abbott and Josh Inglis, who were also part of the India Test series, have been renamed alongside Nathan McSweeney, who was axed mid-series against India for Sam Konstas.

Interestingly, Mitchell Marsh, who has been failing to create an impact with both bat and ball, has been omitted. Josh Hazlewood, who is nursing an injury, is forced to miss out of this series. However, both this duo will be part of Australia’s Champions Trophy plans.

Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland will share the pace bowling duties alongside pace bowling all-rounder Beau Webster and Abbott as the backup. 

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Steve Smith to lead; Pat Cummins rested

Pat Cummins, who is on paternity leave, has requested rest. Steve Smith will be the stand-in captain. Inglis will continue to be the back-up keepet for Alex Carey.

"Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with," national selection panel chair George Bailey said today. 

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"This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match."

Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, and Todd Murphy will take care of the spin duties on the Lankan soil while the squad has multiple part-time spin bowling options. 

Both these sides will compete in the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy, which Australia previously won and they are currently holding the trophy after winning it at home in 2019 before Sri Lanka most recently drew the series 1-1.

The series is scheduled to start on January 29 with the majority of the Australian squad spending almost a week in Dubai before travelling to Sri Lanka.

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

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