Follow UsWhen most teams will prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Australia will be stuck in Sri Lanka, playing a two-match Test series, despite already qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Australia will play just one ODI against Sri Lanka in Galle on February 13, after the two-match Test series concludes. Australia’s Chief of Selectors, George Bailey, revealed they may use that one-off ODI against Sri Lanka to prepare for the ICC white-ball event.
“In the lead-up to some major white-ball tournaments, you do get a period where you focus rather heavily on preparation. You make up for that by going straight from two heavy Test series against India and then two more Tests against Sri Lanka. It's probably going to be a shortened prep for some of those guys who play across formats,” George Bailey told SEN Cricket.
While Australia are yet to announce the squad for the one-off ODI, Bailey has leaked that there’s a strong chance that it could feature Australia’s best white-ball squad, who will join the others during the second Test.
“We currently have one One-Day International vs Sri Lanka at the end of the [Test] series. Depending on their workload, some Test players will roll into the white-ball team from the Champions Trophy squad. The remainder will join them in Sri Lanka sometime during the second Test there,” he added.
Bailey also hinted that Australia could play a second game or an ODI in Pakistan before the global event kicks off.
“We may play one or two others across there and just working towards the moment whether we can get a second game in Sri Lanka or maybe one in Pakistan before we get going.”
Australia kick-off their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against England on February 22, in Lahore.