Canberra (Australia): Australia named a 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and the squad marks the return of key players in the setup. The full-strength squad will take on Blackcaps in the T20I series starting from February 21. Pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc as well as batters Travis Head and Steve Smith are all included in the roster after being rested for the home T20 series against West Indies.
Cummins and Starc are going to replace Sean Abbott and Jason Behrendorff in the team while batters have been added to the 15-player traveling group. The Australian side is dealing with some minor injury problems as they enter a six-game stretch against the Carribean side and New Zealand which are going to be their final fixtures in the shortest format of the game before the World Cup.
Matthew Short suffered a low-grade hamstring injury during the second ODI against West Indies in Sydney. The Australian team has added Ben McDermott for the third ODI in Canberra this afternoon. Aaaron Hardie replaced Short for the game but the latter's recovery is being monitored for the New Zealand series.