Cameron Green is being hailed as one of the stars in the Australian domestic circuit after his magnificent performances in the Sheffield Shield tournament. The 21-year-old from Western Australia has hit two centuries of 158 and 197 in the early rounds of the tournament against Tasmania and New South Wales respectively. Green has slowly returned to bowling after suffering a string of back injuries in the previous season. However, his exploits at the Sheffield Shield have earned him a spot in the 18-man squad for the upcoming series against Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team that will start from November 27, immediately after the end of the IPL 2020.
Along with Cameron Green, Moises Henriques returns to the Australian squad after a gap of three years. Henriques inclusion is in place of Mitchell Marsh who was injured in IPL 2020 for Sunrisers Hyderabad and he will have to undergo ankle surgery, putting him on the sidelines for a long time. Henriques last played an ODI for Australia in 2017 against England while his last T20I was against India in Guwahati.
Apart from Green and Henriques, the squad also see the inclusion of Daniel Sams who has been picked by Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 and who performed admirably in the previous edition of the Big Bash League. There is still no place for Jhye Richardson, who dismissed Virat Kohli in all three matches in the previous series Down Under.
Speaking on the selection of Green, chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns told the media, “Cameron's domestic form has been outstanding and he has carried it through for Western Australia this summer. As a potential player of the future this is an opportunity for him to be part of the squad and build on his experience."
India will arrive in Australia immediately after the end of the IPL 2020 with a huge 32-man contingent. The series will start in Sydney and Canberra with the Odis and T20Is in November and December. The series will begin in New South Wales as the coronavirus restrictions and quarantine rules are slightly easier in New South Wales as compared to the rest of the country.
After the end of the three ODIs and three T20Is, India will play four Tests beginning with the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide, which will be the first time India and Australia play the Day Night Test. The Boxing Day Test will be held in Melbourne after the four-month lockdown ended. There will be a cap of just 25000 spectators for the iconic Test match. Cricket Australia have announced that the Test series squad will be picked after the end of the limited overs series.
Australia ODI and T20I squad vs India
Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (vc), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa