Cricket Australia (CA) has announced their Test squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting January 29. The Aussies have already qualified for the final of the World Test Championship 2025 alongside South Africa. Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins won’t be part of the series due to the birth of his second child and managing his ankle injury.
Steve Smith, former captain and currently the deputy of Cummins, will lead the side during the series. Cooper Connolly has earned his maiden Test call-up while Nathan McSweeney has been recalled after he was left out for the last two Tests against India. The likes of Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann have been included to bolster their spin department, led by Nathan Lyon.
Discarded all-rounder Mitchell Marsh continues to remain out of contention. He was replaced by Beau Webster for the fifth Test against India and will be part of the Sri Lanka tour. The rest of the team, apart from Josh Hazlewood is as same as what it was for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The two-time ODI World Cup winner, Hazlewood is left out so that he can focus on Champions Trophy 2025.
“Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions the players may experience,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets they 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 squad vs Sri Lanka
Steven Smith(c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
