Bartlett, who is presently playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Punjab Kings, coached by Ricky Ponting, will reunite with Australian teammates Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, and Matt Short at Unicorns, according to a report from ESPNcricinfo.
The Aussies named a 23-player list that will receive national contracts for the 2025/26 season on Tuesday, with all-rounder Aaron Hardie, pacer Sean Abbott and spinner Todd Murphy the unlucky trio to miss out and youngsters Cooper Connolly and Jake Fraser-McGurk also failing to earn a deal.
Explosive opener Sam Konstas and left-arm orthodox spinner Matthew Kuhnemann have been rewarded for their rollercoaster summers and have been added to Cricket Australia's central contract list for 2025-26.
With Matthew Short sidelined due to injury ahead of Australia's Champions Trophy semi-final clash, the team management made a bold decision to bring in Cooper Connolly as the opener alongside Travis Head, as per ICC.
While Connolly was dismissed early on from Mohammed Shami, the 21-year-old
Virat Kohli delivered a chase masterclass to knock Australia out of the tournament and send India to the final with a four-wicket win in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday in Dubai.
Australia have announced young all-rounder Cooper Connolly as the replacement of injured Matthew Short ahead of their semi-final clash against India in the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka, Australia stand-in skipper Steven Smith suffered an elbow injury during the washout clash between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League 2025 season on Friday.
Steve Smith paused his celebrations after Australia secured the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to highlight the inclusion of rising talent Cooper Connolly in the squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. The 21-year-old West Australian, considered one of Australia's most promising young players, brings
Reports suggested the return of Maxwell and Handscomb in Australia's tour of the sub-continent. However, youngsters Cooper Connolly and Nathan McSweeney were preferred over the experienced duo.
Right-hand batter Steve Smith has been appointed as the interim skipper of the national side as team Australia announced a 16-player squad for their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which will begin on January 29.
Young all-rounder Cooper Connolly has been ruled out of Australia's upcoming T20I series against Pakistan after sustaining a fracture in the left hand.