Star pacer Pat Cummins was ruled out of Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign on Saturday, while batsman Matthew Renshaw joined the team at the expense of Matt Short.
Test skipper Cummins played just one of five Ashes Tests against England during the Australian summer as he slowly recovers from a lower back injury.
He was hoping to be fit for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka which begins on February 7, but he ran out of time and was replaced by Ben Dwarshuis.
“With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury, Ben is a ready replacement who provides a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late hitting,” said coach Tony Dodemaide.
“We believe his ability to swing the ball at a good pace, as well as his intelligent variations, will be well suited to the conditions we expect and the overall structure of the team.”
The only other change to the provisional squad named this month sees Renshaw replace Short, who has paid the price for his ordinary performances in the Big Bash League.
“Matt (Renshaw) has impressed across all formats in recent times, including in multiple roles in white-ball formats for Australia, Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat,” Dodemaide said.
“With the top order established and the spin-heavy conditions expected in the group stages in Sri Lanka, we also believe Matt provides additional middle-order support, with Tim David completing his return to play program in the first phase of the tournament.”
Big hitter David is close to returning from a hamstring injury.
The team is heavy in preparation for subcontinent conditions, with left-armer Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly complementing chief tweaker Adam Zampa and part-timer Glenn Maxwell.
Australia’s group stage matches are all played in Sri Lanka. They open their account against Ireland in Colombo on February 11.
Squad: 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.
