Australia have included uncapped leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson in the squad for the upcoming Test series in Bangladesh. The Queensland spinner, who has picked up an impressive 41 wickets in his 14 first-class games so far, is the is the third frontline spinner in the 14-man squad, alongside Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar. Swepson was also a part of the squad that toured India earlier this year.
The selectors were initially expected to name a fast-bowler to replace injured Mitchell Starc in the team but with Josh Hazlewood, Patrick Cummins and James Pattinson already included, they opted to boost the spin attack for the conditions which will suit the spinners.
“We are comfortable with the fast-bowling stocks we have in the squad so have opted to add an additional spinner given the conditions we are likely to face in Bangladesh,” national selector Trevor Hohns said. “Mitchell is a very exciting young legspinner who we think will benefit immensely from further experience in the sub-continent.”
The Aussie selectors had planned to announce Starc’s replacement after seeing the players’ performance during the ‘A’ tour of South Africa but the series was abandoned due to the pay dispute between the players and the board.
The two-Test series will begin in Mirpur on August 27 before the teams move to Chittagong for the second one starting from September 4. Meanwhile, Australia will look to get back to winning ways after a tough couple of months in which they existed the Champions Trophy at the group stage and then the issue of the pay dispute which recently ended. This is Australia’s first tour of Bangladesh since 2006 when they won the two-match series 2-0. The team from Down Under has not won a Test series Asia since 2011 and will be keen to end the drought.
Australia Squad:
Steven Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson