AUS vs SL: Australia, after a dominant Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has almost fixed their spot in the WTC final for the second consecutive time, as they will now defend their WTC title won in 2023 against the Proteas at Lord’s.
However, adding a final piece to their WTC season, Australia will visit Sri Lanka and will play in two matches under subcontinent conditions. Considering the unlikely chances of Australia’s any further exit from the WTC finals even if they lose successive matches, several players have been rested for the series.
Cricket Australia picked up Aussie great Steve Smith’s captaincy ban, and as a result, the veteran is now back at the top of the Aussie test side.
Squad for Sri Lanka test tour: Steve Smith (C), Travis Head (VC), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc & Beau Webster.
The Aussies have finally decided to switch in some newer players, with Beau Webster being picked as Australia’s second-choice all-rounder, especially when Mitchell Marsh has been dropped and Cameron Green is absent for a long tenure from the Australian side.
Pacers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have been set apart from the squad, and fresh talents like Kuhnemann, the right-arm pacer, and Todd Murphy have made their way back into the side.
Also, youngsters Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas have both made their way into the side, while the likes of Konstas’ U-19 partner Connolly have made their way for the first time into the test side after having made his limited-overs debut back in the England tour.
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