melbourne
Travis Head and Australian bowler, who was part of the five-match Test series against India, have been ruled out of the remaining matches of the Big Bash League (BBL). Head, Scott Boland, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc will not participate in the BBL season despite being contracted players. Steve Smith will play three BBL matches before the Sri Lanka tour, while Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja will feature in only one match. While Alex Carey, Sam Konstas, Beau Webster, Mitchell Marsh and Jay Richardson have been cleared to participate in the remaining BBL season.
Australia is expected to announce its 16-man squad for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka in the coming days. This team will leave for pre-tour camp in UAE on 19th or 20th January. The players on this tour will not be available for the BBL final to be held from 21 to 27 January.
It may be too early to say whether those Australian players who played the last Test against India in Sydney will be included in the Sri Lanka tour. Josh Inglis, Peter Handscomb, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhneman could potentially be included. Australia has already qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Glenn Maxwell is also being considered. However, the selectors can keep the India tour in 2027 in mind while selecting the team.
Smith will miss Sydney Sixers’ match against Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Thursday, but is set to feature against Perth Scorchers at the SCG on Saturday. Marsh and Richardson, who are included in the Scorchers squad, are also expected to play in the match against Renegades on Tuesday night.
Smith will also be available for the Sixers’ matches against the Adelaide Strikers on 15 January and Sydney Thunder on 17 January, where Kontas will also play. Kontas is set to play in all four remaining matches for the Thunder, starting with tomorrow night’s match against the Hobart Hurricanes in Sydney.
