David Warner has been given a break from international cricket following his outstanding performance in the ODI World Cup. The allrounder, who scored 535 runs at 48.63, will join a group of multiformat players who will skip the five-match series against India ahead of the home summer.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are also heading home along with allrounders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh. Warner had earmarked the SCG in early January for his retirement from Test cricket, making this series the final stage of his Test career.
Western Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie has been called up to replace Spencer Johnson in the T20I squad. Kane Richardson has also been added to the squad as a replacement for Johnson, who is recovering from a hamstring injury. Despite starting just four days after the ODI World Cup final, this series acts as part of the build-up to next year’s T20 edition in West Indies and the USA.
Australia currently have six more T20Is scheduled before that tournament with a pair of three-match series against West Indies and New Zealand in February. The squad now includes seven players who featured during the World Cup plus Tanveer Sangha, who was a travelling reserve throughout.
The side will be led by Matthew Wade although Marsh, who captained them to a 3-0 victory against South Africa in September, is expected to take on that role permanently. There will also be a stand-in coach for the series with Andre Borovec taking charge as Andrew McDonald returns home ahead of the summer.
The series gets underway in Visakhapatnam on Thursday with Australia’s T20I squad including Matthew Wade (capt), Travis Head, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff
