In order to give Test players a chance to play in the Sheffield Shield before to the Ashes, Australia has made several changes to their Twenty20 team for the forthcoming five-match series against India, including recalling Glenn Maxwell and Ben Dwarshuis.
Test mainstay Josh Hazlewood will miss the final three matches of the series, while fellow pacer Sean Abbott — a contender to replace the likely absent Pat Cummins in the Ashes opener — will sit out the last two.
After missing the ODI series against India due to a calf injury, left-arm pacer Dwarshuis will be available for the final two games, while all-rounder Maxwell, who has been sidelined by a wrist ailment, will play the final three.
Uncapped pacer Mahli Beardman will also be included in the team for the final three games of a series that starts next Wednesday in Canberra and continues with games in Melbourne, Hobart, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
Wicketkeeper Josh Philippe has joined the team as a continuing replacement for Josh Inglis, who is still dealing with the calf issue that kept him out of the ODI series.
Australia won by two wickets in Adelaide on Thursday, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
In order to play red-ball cricket in the Sheffield Shield, Marnus Labuschagne, a potential member of Australia’s top order in the Ashes series, was released from the ODI team on Friday.
For Saturday’s series finale in Sydney, spinner Matt Kuhnemann and uncapped all-rounder Jack Edwards will be added to the one-day team.
The opening Test in Perth on November 21 marks the start of the Ashes campaign.
Australia’s T20 squad for India series: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott (games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (games 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (games 1-2), Mahli Beardman (games 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Philippe, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
