Steve Smith to lead as Australia announce test squad for Sri Lanka tour

Australia will play a two-match test series in Sri Lanka.

Cricket Australia (CA) unveiled a 16-player squad on Thursday, January 9, for Australia‘s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Australia will tour the Island Nation for two test matches and one ODI. The test series will help Australia for the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 final, which they’ll play against South Africa at the Lord’s in June.

Regular skipper Pat Cummins will miss the tour as he is expecting the birth of his second child. Steve Smith has been named captain, while Travis Head has been named his deputy for the two-match test series.

Western Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly has been included in the squad for his strong domestic performances. Nathan McSweeney, who was dropped from the last two tests against India, has also been picked for the tour.

Australia will play two tests against Sri Lanka at the Galle Stadium, starting on January 29 and February 6. They will then take on South Africa in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s, London, from June 11.

The squad also includes the return of spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy, who were part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023 in India. Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb, and Matthew Renshaw, despite being talked about, have missed out on selection.

George Bailey on Australian test squad

Australian chair of selectors George Bailey highlighted that the unique challenges of playing in Sri Lanka provide an opportunity for newer players to showcase their skills in red-ball cricket.

He said, “Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with. This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match.“

“We are excited about the opportunity ahead for the squad members who are at the start of their Test careers to continue to grow their games in subcontinent conditions where we have a number of important tours in coming years.”

Australia’s test squad for Sri Lanka tour

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.

Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka test series fixtures

January 29 to February 2 – Galle – 10:00 AM IST 04:30 AM GMT / 10:00 AM LOCAL

February 6 to February 10 – Galle – 10:00 AM IST 04:30 AM GMT / 10:00 AM LOCAL

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