Australia's 18-man squad to tour India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been announced, with four spinners selected.
Ashton Agar and Nathan Lyon are retained having played the final Test against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground last week, while Mitch Swepson, who toured Pakistan and Sri Lanka during 2022, is also in the side.
Todd Murphy could also be set to make his Test debut, with the young Victorian who is averaging a tick under 18 with the ball in the Sheffield Shield this summer selected as part of the touring party.
Elsewhere, Peter Handscomb is a chance to make his Test return, with the Sheffield Shield's leading run-scorer over the last two seasons included despite seeming to injure himself playing in the Victorian premier cricket T20 competition on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the squad to tour India was announced.
Ever seen someone retire hurt immediately after hitting a six?
Australia's Peter Handscomb dropped to the floor after doing just that, with what appears to be a serious rib injury playing club cricket today in Melbourne. He was struck in the body earlier in the innings. pic.twitter.com/Z4vN8QggIL
— ๐Flashscore Cricket Commentators (@FlashCric) January 10, 2023
The remainder of the XI from the Sydney Test - David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have all been selected.
Australia have also included Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green as they battle to return from respective finger injuries - Starc has confirmed he will miss the first Test, while Green is racing the clock.
Lance Morris and Scott Boland have been included as the backup pace options in the touring party.
Chief selector George Bailey said Murphy and Agar, as well as Handscomb, all deserve their selections to the squad.
โTodd Murphy has progressed quickly having impressed in domestic cricket and recently with Australia A. With those performances Todd has emerged as a strong spin option,โย Bailey said.
โSelection in this squad also provides another opportunity to spend time alongside Nathan Lyon and assistant coach Daniel Vettori in India which will be invaluable to his development.
โAshton Agar continues to impress following his comeback in Sydney and we believe left-arm finger spin will play an important role in Indian conditions.
โPeter Handscomb deserves his place back in the squad.
โHis domestic form has been strong recently and Pete has proven he can perform at Test level.
โHis experience against spin on the subcontinent is valuable and he is also an exceptionally good close to the wicket catcher.โ
The squad selection means Marcus Harris, who spent the summer travelling with the Aussie squad, and Glenn Maxwell, who was racing the clock to recover from injury, will notmake the trip abroad.
The first Test will be played in Nagpur on February 9.
Australia's squad to tour India
Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
