Cummins rested for Sri Lanka T20Is; Harris dropped from Test squad

Australia have announced four squads for their six-week tour of Sri Lanka in June-July later this year. They are scheduled to play three T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests, and apart from that, Australia A will also be involved in two 50-over games in Colombo and two four-day encounters in Hambantota.

Test captain Pat Cummins has been rested for the T20I series, while legspinner Adam Zampa will miss the entire tour due to the birth of his first child. Meanwhile, opener Marcus Harris and paceman Mark Steketee have been left out of the 16-man Test squad but will travel with the Australia A set-up.

Harris had a poor Ashes at the start of the year but was part of the victorious Test squad in Pakistan in March. Ben McDermott, who was impressive against Pakistan, hasn’t been included in any squad. 

Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell all return to the white-ball squads having missed the recent limited-overs matches in Pakistan. 

"These are very targeted to skill sets, and what we see as the bulk of the squad for the home T20 World Cup and looking further forward to the ODI World Cup," said Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey.

"We were able to continue to build our depth with great white ball performances in Pakistan on the back of a superb Test Series. As selectors, this has been one of the most rewarding parts amid the challenges of the past few years."

While picking the Australia A squad, more focus was given to red-ball cricket and that’s why McDermott failed to make the cut. “Really happy with what he did on the Pakistan tour, he's just been squeezed out of the Australian squads given the return of the number of players in the roles that he was playing," Bailey said. 

"And the Australia A tour the focus on that is the two red-ball games. The two one-dayers were added a little bit late, later than then as we were planning, and we didn't really want to change our focus and split that squad.

"He's just behind a couple of those others that are in that squad at the moment. But again, really happy with what he did in Pakistan. As we've said to him over the last couple of days, he's enhanced his reputation. Now it's just about getting another opportunity."

Players like Josh Inglis, Jhye Richardson, Sean Abbott, Scott Boland and Travis Head are also part of the ‘A’ squad despite being named in the main set-up. Bailey feels that will provide them enough flexibility to switch players if and when needed. "There are several players returning to respective squads combined with an Australia A tour running in parallel to the white-ball series," Bailey said.

"It's incredibly exciting to have an Australia A component which offers further flexibility and opportunity for players to be available for and cross over into all squads. That could be from a Test or white-ball preparation perspective or an opportunity to impress at an international level.

"Those factors, coupled with what we expect to be more freedom of travel, means we can be very specific with our structures while continuing to develop the next generation of players. This is the first time a tour of this scale has been possible since the Ashes in 2019."

Australia T20I squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner, Matthew Wade (wk).

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

Australia A squad: Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Peter Handscomb, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nic Maddinson, Todd Murphy, Josh Philippe, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Tanveer Sangha, Mark Steketee.