Australia announces squad for Pakistan white-ball series, star players miss out

As Australia named a 16-man white-ball squad for their upcoming tour of Pakistan on Tuesday, many prominent names were notably excluded. 

The Aussie Test Captain Pat Cummins has opted for rest in the white-ball leg of the tour but is expected to be available for the three-match Test series. Same goes with David Warner, who also will not feature in T20 and ODI series for an undisclosed reason.

Glenn Maxwell made himself unavailable as the matches clash with his wedding, while the pace-bowling duo of Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc will not travel to Pakistan for the white-ball games.

With only a solitary T20I scheduled to be played, wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade will not be seen in the Aussie Jersey. Instead, Josh Inglis has been given a go and will act as a backup option for Alex Carey. Finch will be in charge of the team and will be opening the innings with Ben McDermott.

Interestingly, Steve Smith has been picked up even after suffering a concussion lately. Marnus Labuschagne is a surprising inclusion in the T20 team. Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh and Ashton Agar have been drafted into the side as all-rounders. 

"We have picked a talented and versatile squad with a number of challenges to juggle, including the tour structure of predominantly 50 over games, management of several multi-format players in the medium to long term; and our need to build experience and depth in preparation for two short-form World Cups within the next 18 months," Chairman of Selectors George Bailey said as quoted by The Roar.

"We’re confident the squad can both compete successfully on this tour and continue our progress towards those crucial tournaments," he added.

In a historic tour, Australia will travel to Pakistan after 24 years to play three Test matches, three ODIs and a one-off T20I.

Australia’s white-ball squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.