Australia name 16-member Test squad for India tour

Sydney [Australia], Jan.15 (ANI): Cricket Australia announced a 16-member Test squad for the tour of India on Sunday. The team is as follows: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Wade, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Nathan Lyon, Stephen O'Keefe, Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson. Queensland leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is the new entrant in the Test squad, suggesting that the selectors have trained their focus heavily on spin to get the job done on the subcontinent. Swepson is one of four frontline spinners named in the squad with left-armed Ashton Agar joining incumbent duo Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe. The squad led by Steve Smith, also has two all-rounders in Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh for the four-Test tour. All-rounder Hilton Cartwright, who made his Test debut in Sydney, was left out, while Shaun Marsh is back after injury. Selectors have taken a big gamble on Swepson, who has played 14 first-class games for 41 wickets at 33. He has never taken a first-class bag of five. "Mitchell is an exciting young leg-spinner that has come through the pathway system. We feel he has a lot of potential and want to see him take his opportunity in conditions that should suit him should he get a chance," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted the chairman of selectors, Trevor Hohns, as saying. "We don't know what pitch conditions we will come up against in each of the venues, but wanted to have flexibility and options available to us," Hohns added. India, he said is an incredibly tough place to tour and to have success in. Players would have to stand up and be counted in terms of performance. He said he expected all young players chosen to benefit immensely from the experience. (ANI)