Australia squad for India tour: Starc, Hazlewood ruled out, Richardson, Short recalled

Australia ODI/T20I squad/team for India tour: In a major blow to Australia’s hopes, a pectoral injury has ruled out ace seamer Mitchell Starc from the entire tour. Starc has been replaced by right-arm fast bowler Kane Richardson for the India series.

Australia have announced their ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming series against India starting on February 24 with two T20Is followed by five ODIs. Instead of naming two different squads, Cricket Australia has named a 16-member squad for both the ODI and T20I series. In a major blow to Australia’s hopes, a pectoral injury has ruled out ace seamer Mitchell Starc from the entire tour. Starc suffered the injury while bowling on Day 5 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra. "Unfortunately, scans have revealed that Mitchell Starc sustained a substantial tear to his left pec muscle while bowling on the final day of the Test match in Canberra. This means he will be unavailable for the Tour of India, but we will instead target a return to play for the ODI Series against Pakistan in the UAE in March," Hohns said. Starc has been replaced by right-arm fast bowler Kane Richardson for the India series. Starc’s new-ball partner Josh Hazlewood too will miss the India tour after he failed to recover from the back injury sustained during the Test series at home against India. Eleven of the 14 players that lost the to India 2-1 at home have been retained for the reverse tour. The three cricketers missing are veteran seamer Peter Siddle, towering quick Billy Stanlake and allrounder Mitch Marsh. "Peter Siddle and Mitch Marsh are unfortunate to miss out, but our message throughout the summer remains true, with such a big schedule ahead opportunities may well present themselves," Hohns said about the players excluded. Shaun Marsh meanwhile will join the squad from the third ODI at Ranchi on March 8 as he is expecting the birth of his second child. Hard-hitting opening batsman D’Arcy Shot will take his place for the first part of the series. The series gets underway in late February with two T20Is on February 24 and 27 in Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru respectively. The first ODI will be played in Hyderabad on March 2, the second in Nagpur on March 5, while Ranchi will host the third ODI on March 8. The fourth and fifth ODIs will be played in Mohali and Delhi on March 10 and 13 respectively. Australia T20I/ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Pat Cummins, Alex Carey, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh (from 3rd ODI), Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa, D'Arcy Short (cover for Marsh)