Star pacer Pat Cummins was ruled out of Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign on Saturday, while batsman Matthew Renshaw entered the team at the expense of Matt Short.
Test captain Cummins only played one of the five Ashes Tests against England during the Australian summer as he slowly recovers from a lower back injury.
He hoped to be fit for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka starting on February 7, but his time ran out and he was replaced by Ben Dwarshuis.
“With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury, Ben is a ready replacement offering a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late batting,” selector Tony Dodemaide said.
“We believe his ability to move the ball at a good pace, coupled with intelligent variations, will adapt well to the conditions we expect and the overall structure of the team.”
The only other change to the provisional squad named this month is Renshaw replacing Short, who has paid the price for his unremarkable performances in the Big Bash League.
“Matt (Renshaw) has impressed in all formats of late, including multiple roles in white-ball formats for Australia, the Queensland Bulls and the Brisbane Heat,” Dodemaide said.
“With the top order in place and high spin conditions expected in the group stages in Sri Lanka, we also feel Matt provides additional support in the middle order, with Tim David completing his return to play program in the opening phase of the tournament.”
Big hitter David is on track to return from a hamstring injury.
The team is highly prepared for subcontinental conditions, with left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly complementing head of modification Adam Zampa and part-time player Glenn Maxwell.
All of Australia’s group stage matches will be played in Sri Lanka. They open their account against Ireland in Colombo on February 11.
Team: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
