Australia has made quite a few changes to its ODI squad from the one that played the World Cup in UK ahead of the three-match series in India beginning next year January 14, with the selection of young batsman Marnus Labuschagne standing out.
Labuschagne, who has begun his Test career fantastically, proved his List A credentials as well this season with a lot of runs for Queensland.
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Whether or not the 25-year-old makes his international white-ball debut on Indian soil remains to be seen but chief selector Trevor Hohns is confident of his potential.
"Marnus Labuschagne is ready for his international white ball debut after his strong form for Queensland in this form of the game," he said.
The squad also sees the return of pacer Sean Abbott after five long years, left-arm spin all-rounder Ashton Agar getting another chance in 18 months, with pacer Josh Hazlewood further recalled to the ODI side, having missed the World Cup due to a shoulder injury. Hazlewood is currently nursing hamstring strain but is expected to be fit by then. Power-hitting batsman Ashton Turner is also part of the 14-man touring party.
"The performance of our white-ball squads has been strong and we are hoping to build the momentum towards the T20 World Cup at home at the end of the year and ultimately build towards the 2023 World Cup in India," Hohns added.
There was no room for the likes of Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Lyon. While the rest have basically been looked past, Lyon and Maxwell weren't picked with the need to manage former's workload and the latter having just made a comeback from mental health issues.
Head coach Justin Langer has also been given a break for this series as his assistant Andrew McDonald will take charge.
The first ODI will be played in Mumbai followed by the next two in Rajkot (January 17) and Bangalore (January 19), respectively.
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
