SL vs AUS: Steve Smith Replaces Pat Cummins As Captain; Australia Announce Squad For Test Series

Steve Smith will lead Australia in the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

Hyderabad: Steve Smith will replace Pat Cummins in the role of leadership for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka as Cricket Australia (CA) announced a 16-member squad. Smith will captain the national side in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins, who is on paternity leave and is recovering from an ankle injury.

Right-arm pacer Josh Hazlewood is also missing out from the squad as he is recovering from a calf injury while Mitchell Marsh is excluded from the roster. However, both the players will be in reckoning for the ICC Champions Trophy which is scheduled to start next month.

Travis Head will be the vice-captain of the team which includes Australia’s recent additions to the Test set-up - Beau Webster, Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney.

“Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with. This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match," said Cricket Australia's chairman of selectors, George Bailey.

Australia Squad for Sri Lanka series

Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster