Melbourne, Oct 24 Veteran all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and pacer Ben Dwarshuis have been returned to Australia's T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against India.
Maxwell will return from a fractured wrist for the last three games of the series while Dwarshuis has been brought in to return for games four and five.
Cricket Australia confirmed several changes to its white-ball squads on Friday, with multiple players set to return to domestic duties and a few fresh faces earning call-ups.
Marnus Labuschagne has been released from the ODI squad ahead of Saturday’s final match in Sydney to prepare for Queensland’s Sheffield Shield clash against New South Wales at the Gabba starting Tuesday.
Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott will miss the latter stages of the T20I series against India to play in NSW’s round-four Shield match against Victoria at the SCG from November 10. Hazlewood will feature only in the first two T20Is, while Abbott - recovering from split webbing in his hand - will depart after the third T20I in Hobart.
In the ODI squad, Matthew Kuhnemann and Jack Edwards have been recalled for the Sydney match. Kuhnemann played the opening ODI in Perth before making way for Adam Zampa in Adelaide. Edwards earns his spot following standout performances for Australia A in India, where he scored 88 in the second four-day game in Lucknow, took 4 for 56, and hit 89 off 75 in the 50-over matches in Kanpur while captaining the side.
Edwards’ inclusion gives Australia the flexibility to experiment with an allrounder-heavy line-up in the Sydney dead rubber and possibly rest one or both of Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, given the short turnaround between matches.
Josh Philippe returns to the T20I squad as backup wicketkeeper amid ongoing fitness concerns over Josh Inglis, who is still recovering from a calf strain.
One of the most notable moves is the selection of Cooper Beardman, the 20-year-old Western Australia quick, for the final three T20Is. Beardman, a former Australia Under-19 bowler, impressed during the 2024 white-ball tour of England as an injury replacement despite limited experience. Returning from stress fractures, he has started the domestic season strongly for WA and the Perth Scorchers, taking 12 wickets at 17.75 with an economy rate of 5.75 in his first four List A matches.
The final ODI between Australia and India will be played in Sydney on Saturday, followed by the five-match T20I series beginning next week.
Australia T20I squad vs India: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott (first three matches only), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (last three matches only), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (last two matches only), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (first two matches only), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
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