Steve Smith-Led Australia Test Squad Announced For Sri Lanka Series

Australia have announced their Test squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka starting from January 29. Both the Test matches will be played in Galle with the first Test from January 29 and the second Test from February 6.

Full-time skipper Pat Cummins is out of the series due to the birth of his second child. There are further reports that he has picked up an ankle injury. Cummins recently led Australia to the Border-Gavaskar Test series win over India. In the process, Australia have also confirmed their spot in the WTC final.

Steve Smith will lead the side in Cummins' absence. Josh Hazlewood is also ruled out with a calf injury. Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh has been dropped due to poor form. Sam Konstas has retained his place in the side after his impressive performance against India. He managed to get under the skin of several Indian players in the two Test matches that he played. Despite low scores against India, Nathan McSweeney has been retained in the Test side.

Speaking of the other notable additions, spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy have joined Nathan Lyon bolstering the spin attack. After an impressive performance in the final Test in Sydney, Beau Webster has retained his place as well in the side.

Australian selector George Bailey spoke to the media after choosing the squad for the two-match series. He explained the reason why he chose a diverse squad that would allow them to pick an XI based on the conditions.

"Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with. This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we 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" said Bailey.

Australia, South Africa Already Through To WTC 25 Final

Sri Lanka's outside chance of making the WTC final are now done and dusted after Australia's qualification. The Lankans had to win the Test series at home to make the WTC final had Australia lost to India in the BGT.

Australia Squad For Sri Lanka Test Series: Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Nathan McSweeney, Beau Webster, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Cooper Connolly, Todd Murphy, Matt Kuhneman, Sean Abbott, Scott Boland