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New Delhi: Australia openers Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney, who made their debut during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, have been included in a 14-member squad for the two red-ball four-day matches in Lucknow in September.
Konstas replaced McSweeney during the last five-match series between India and Australia but failed to grab his spot in the top order. He also failed to score runs in a three-match Test series against the West Indies.
The 19-year-old scored a brilliant half-century on his debut in the Melbourne Test and was involved in a shoulder-barging incident with Virat Kohli. He also got into a verbal spat with other Indian cricketers as well. Konstas is the only current Test player to be included in the 'A' team.
The opening batter was sent back from the Sri Lanka tour to play in the Sheffield Shield after he failed to find a spot in the playing XI. Murphy picked up 14 wickets during the Australia tour of India in 2022-23, which the visitors lost by 1-2.
Australia's chief selector, George Bailey, said that the subcontinent provides many unique challenges and the opportunity to utilise different skills with bat and ball.
"We hope repeated experiences in these conditions will assist players in developing an effective method and understanding of their game for future subcontinent tours", Bailey said as quoted by cricket.com.au.
Jason Sangha and Matthew Renshaw were not included in the red-ball squad. Sangha scored an unbeaten 202 against Sri Lanka A in Darwin while Renshaw has the experience of playing in the Indian conditions.
The two four-day matches will be played in Lucknow from September 16-19 and September 23-26, while the three ODI games will start on September 30.
Red-ball squad: Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Aaron Hardie, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Fergus O'Neill, Oliver Peake, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Liam Scott.
ODI squad: Cooper Connolly, Harry Dixon, Jack Edwards, Sam Elliott, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Mackenzie Harvey, Todd Murphy, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachie Shaw, Tom Straker, Will Sutherland, Callum Vidler.
