New Delhi: Cricket Australia, on Friday, announced their ODI and T20I squad for the upcoming limited-over series in India starting September. All-rounder James Faulkner and paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile have both been recalled along with Ashton Agar and Hilton Cartwright.
Pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile marked a spectacular return to cricketing action in the tenth season of Indian Premier League, after constant injury blows kept him on the sidelines. He scalped 15 wickets in eight matches for IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders which included the astounding rampage over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens. Cricket Australia selector Trevor Hohns ergo feels confident that the pacer can make an impactful return donning the yellow jersey too.
“Nathan brings raw pace to the side with good variation. It is great to see him back from injury and we are hopeful he will have a big impact in this series. “James Faulkner is a solid One-Day campaigner and is very familiar with sub-continent conditions, coming off a very good tour of Sri Lanka last year. We hope that he will take his chance in returning to the one-day side,” Hohns said.
Faulkner, the man of the match in the 2015 World Cup final, had unfortunately missed out on Australia’s campaign at England for the ICC Champions Trophy. And now, owing to his experience in the subcontinent, the all-rounder has been named in the 15-member squad that will fly to India for the limited-over series.
Surprisingly, however, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, John Hastings, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc, will all be missing out on the anticipated series owing to injuries.
Cricket Australia has also put some weight behind Western Australia all-rounder Hilton Cartwright. The 25-year-old made his debut earlier this year and his big-hitting prowess has earned him a spot for the India tour in both the formats. “Hilton is an aggressive striker of the ball and we think his game will be well suited to the transition to short-form cricket,” Hohns said.
The tour begins on September 17 and will go on until October 13, however, the venues are yet to be finalised by BCCI.
Australia`s squads for the one-day international and Twenty20 tour to India in September-October:
ODI squad – Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
T20I squad – Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.
Source: Zee News