In order to manage their workloads after a demanding Indian Premier League season, Australia has rested its top pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins for the forthcoming limited-overs tours of Bangladesh and Pakistan.
While Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood use the break to get ready for Australia’s World Test Championship campaign, which resumes in August with a two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, the move makes room for new talent.
With uncapped all-rounder Liam Scott and Australia Under-19 World Cup captain Ollie Peake receiving their first senior international call-ups in a revised Australian squad, the three will miss the three-match series against Pakistan beginning on May 30.
On May 31, the IPL comes to an end. Another fresh face is young hitter Joel Davies, who was chosen for the June T20 series against Bangladesh.
Veteran all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was completely left out, but Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, and Xavier Bartlett—all participating in the current IPL with different teams—will fly to Bangladesh after their obligations in India are fulfilled.
As Australia gets ready for the ODI World Cup, which will take place in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in October of next year, Mitchell Marsh will skipper both tours.
According to George Bailey, chairman of the Australian selection panel, the tours offered chances for up-and-coming players.
“It’s always exciting to see new players get an opportunity to play international cricket and be a part of the national team,” Bailey said.
“The blend of experienced players coupled with new or returning players will provide a nice mix for these subcontinent tours.
“Continuing to provide opportunities for players to develop across a broad range of conditions and experiences is important and will continue to be a focus over the next 18 months to two years.”
Australia travels to Bangladesh for three ODI matches in Dhaka (June 9, 11, and 14) and three T20 Internationals in Chattogram (June 17, 19, and 21) after playing Pakistan in three ODIs in Rawalpindi (May 30) and Lahore (June 2 and 4).
Australia ODI squad for Pakistan: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Riley Meredith, Ollie Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Matthew Short, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa
Australia ODI squad for Bangladesh: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa
Australia T20 squad for Bangladesh: Mitchell Marsh?(captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Adam Zampa
