Australia name squad for WI and B'desh tour, Smith unavailable while Warner, Maxwell opt out
Jun 16, 2021
Adelaide [Australia], June 16 : The Australian National Selection Panel on Wednesday named an 18-player squad for the men's white-ball tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh.
Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, and Pat Cummins requested not to be considered for various reasons in Australia's upcoming winter tour.
Steve Smith has been rested to fully recover from an elbow complaint that flared during the Indian Premier League. The following tour will be crucial for the preparation for Australia's T20 side ahead of the World Cup in October and November.
Tasmania's Nathan Ellis and New South Wales Tanveer Sangha will join the tour as traveling reserves and further their international experience with an Australian squad.
Trevor Hohns, National Selector, said in an official statement, "We are naturally disappointed not to have all players available for the Australian team at this time however the NSP respects the decisions of those who have opted out of this tour."
"Steve Smith was unavailable for selection due to an elbow injury and will now be able to use this time to fully recover ahead of the World Cup and home Ashes Series. Steve was disappointed to miss the tour with the decision made on medical grounds."
Hohns said those brought into the squad deserved their opportunities.
"We are fortunate to have excellent depth in Australian cricket and we're extremely excited by the inclusions of Wes Agar, Ben McDermott, Dan Christian, and Ashton Turner to the squad.
"We are equally pleased to have Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Swepson back in the white ball squad having missed the recent tour of New Zealand through their selection in the Test squad for South Africa," he said.
The squad is due to depart for the West Indies on June 28 for five T20 Internationals at Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia followed by three One-Day Internationals at Kensington Stadium in Barbados. If confirmed, the team will then play five T20 Internationals against Bangladesh in Bangladesh.
Australia squad for West Indies and Bangladesh tour: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Traveling reserves: Nathan Ellils, Tanveer Sangha.
