Australia has unveiled a 15-player squad for the upcoming T20 tour of India, with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade named as captain.
Wade, who captained the national side on seven occasions between 2020 and 2022, will lead Australia for five T20 matches against India, which gets underway after the ongoing World Cup.
The 35-year-old Tasmanian, who has not played international cricket since last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, will be joined by World Cup players David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Sean Abbott.
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Meanwhile, Australia’s multi-format pace bowlers and all-rounders, including Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green, have been rested for the bilateral series.
Western Australia all-rounder Aaron Hardie has missed selection, while spinner Ashton Agar was unavailable due to a recurrence of his calf injury.
“It’s an experienced squad with a mixture of players who have had their first opportunity on the international stage and that we hope will continue to develop into important players in our T20 group,” chair of selectors George Bailey said in a statement.
“Matthew has captained the team previously, is a leader in the group and we look forward to him taking the reins for this series. Like Mitch Marsh in the South Africa series, this is another great opportunity to further deepen our international leadership experience and depth.
“It’s always a great challenge to take on India on their home soil. Most of the squad have extensive experience in playing in India, including eight members of the current ODI World Cup squad, alongside Tanveer Sangha who is currently a travelling reserve.”
Cricket Australia is yet to formally name a permanent men’s T20 captain since Aaron Finch’s retirement in February, with Marsh serving the role during last month’s white ball tour of South Africa.
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The first T20 between India and Australia gets underway at Visakhapatnam’s Dr. Y. S. Rajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium on November 24, with the first ball scheduled for 12.30am AEDT.
Australian T20 squad for tour of India
Matthew Wade (c)
Jason Behrendorff
Sean Abbott
Tim David
Nathan Ellis
Travis Head
Josh Inglis
Spencer Johnson
Glenn Maxwell
Tanveer Sangha
Matt Short
Steve Smith
Marcus Stoinis
David Warner
Adam Zampa