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With Australia’s Test players unavailable for selection thanks to the tour of India, the T20 squad named to face Sri Lanka will be an inexperienced one, with Aaron Finch to skipper the side and Michael Klinger to make his international debut aged 36.
Due to a crowded schedule, the first Test in India will start just 16 hours after the final T20 finishes in Adelaide, meaning there is no chance any of the Test players could have been named in the T20 squad.
It means plenty of players get the chance to make the step up to international level, with only four players from last year’s World T20 squad being selected.
James Faulkner, Finch, Andrew Tye and Adam Zampa have all made the cut, with Finch resuming his role as T20 captain for the series after being replaced by Steve Smith.
Four players are pencilled into be making their debuts in the series, headlined by Klinger. Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake and Ashton Turner are the other players set to make their debuts.
The big-hitting Chris Lynn has also been named in the squad, however he will have to pass fitness tests with the selectors and coaches before confirming his return from a neck injury. Pat Cummins and Travis Head, who are currently on ODI duty in New Zealand, have also been named in the squad.
The other members of the team are New South Wales all-rounder Moises Henriques, who is coming off a big T20 Big Bash campaign where he led the Sydney Sixers to the final, while Tim Paine will assume the keeping gloves.
While the leading run-scorer (Ben Dunk) and wicket-taker (Sean Abbott) from the recently-concluded Big Bash season were not included in the squad, Trevor Hohns said the side had a good balance as Australia aim to improve their T20 ranking.
“With Australia currently ranked number six in this format and with a number of our frontline players preparing for the India Test series, we have chosen a squad with a good blend of experience combined with several younger players in an effort to improve our performance and therefore our ICC T20 ranking,” said Hohns.
“The influence of younger players in this squad also gives us the opportunity to look forward to the ICC World T20, which is being hosted here in Australia in 2020. The overall standards being set in the BBL are very high and many of these players are making a good impression, but consistency was key for the selectors on this occasion.”
All-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who starred for Australia in their opening ODI against New Zealand with three wickets and 146 not out, was also left out of the squad.
Aaron Finch (c), Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Michael Klinger, Chris Lynn (fitness pending), Tim Paine (wk), Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa
Coach: Justin Langer
Assistant coaches: Ricky Ponting and Jason Gillespie
Series fixtures (times AEDT)
February 17, 7:40pm – Melbourne Cricket Ground
February 19, 7:20pm – Kardinia Park, Geelong
February 22, 7:50pm – Adelaide Oval
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