Australia have called up Matthew Kuhnemann ahead of the second Test against Team India as replacement for Mitchell Swepson who will head home for the birth of his first child.
Swepson was not a part of the recently-concluded first Test between India and Australia at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. He was warming the bench as India thrashed Australia by an innings and 132 runs inside three days to take the lead in the three-match series.
The spinner will now fly back to Brisbane to be be with his pregnant fiancée, Jess. With Swepson heading home, Australia have added Matthew Kuhnemann to their squad. He will be the second left-arm spinner in the squad with Ashton Agar being the other one.
Matthew Kuhnemann added to Australia squad:
26-year old Matthew Kuhnemann is yet to make his debut in the longest format of the game. So far, he has played only 4 ODIs after making his debut against Sri Lanka in June last year. He has not played any game for Australia since that tour of Sri Lanka.
His last competitive appearance came in Sheffield Shield where he claimed 2 for 55 off 21 overs and 1 for 67 off 23 overs at the MCG. Talking about his record in First-Class cricket, he has picked up 32 wickets in 12 games with the help of 3 five-wicket hauls. The spinner will be hoping that he goes on to make his Test debut in India.
Meanwhile, Australia will be desperate to bounce back after the humiliating defeat in Nagpur. The world number one Test side were thoroughly outplayed by the hosts as the game ended inside three days.
After bowling out Australia for 177 in the first innings, India piled up 400. In the second innings, the hosts bowled out Australia for just 91 inside a session to register a thumping win.
Australia squad:
Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner