Regardless of having their spot booked before heading to India that tour will be one of the series that defines their year and against their likely opponents in the WTC final, albeit in vastly different conditions. It will, therefore, be intriguing to see which players fill the fringe places in the squad that will be announced shortly after the Sydney Test is finished.
Some of the names called up for the final match against South Africa have given a clear indication of the way the selectors will go. Ashton Agar can be locked in with Matt Renshaw highly likely to be included given the versatility he provides while Peter Handscomb, added late to the Sydney squad, is another expected to travel as a spare batter. Marcus Harris, having travelled all summer as a reserve, may end up unlucky again.
Alongside those who are certain selections it does not leave many gaps to fill, although the injury concerns with Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green may mean a slightly larger group travels. Green has conceded they are both in a race against time for the opening Test in Nagpur.
There will be at least one more frontline spinner alongside Agar and Nathan Lyon, and there could yet be two. Legspinner Mitchell Swepson, who played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will be in the frame as will the uncapped offspinner Todd Murphy who is very highly regarded. The chances of a surprise call-up for Adam Zampa appear to have receded.
“Todd’s putting his hand up with the performances he’s put on the board,” coach Andrew McDonald said after the MCG Test. “Mitch Swepson performed well in the subcontinent previously.
“Matt Renshaw coming in again in Test cricket has had some success there before. Pete Handscomb, no doubt, would probably consider himself unlucky not to be in that conversation for Sydney, but there’s another one coming back into the Test fold in conversation. We’ve got Marcus Harris also. So feel we’ve got Test experience within that depth.”
While Australia may only play two frontline quicks during some of the series, supplemented by Green when he is fit, they will likely have plenty of options at their disposal. Scott Boland’s wicket-to-wicket skills, and ability to find reverse swing, could yet be valuable if pitches are uneven while the uncapped Lance Morris would provide a 150-kph point of difference.
As has been made clear in Sydney, there is no like-for-like cover for Green given Mitchell Marsh is sidelined after an ankle surgery and fellow Western Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie is understood to be considered not quite ready for the elevation.
The other question will be whether they take a specialist backup to Alex Carey or believe that Handscomb could step in with the gloves if required. Given the relatively condensed nature of the tour, Josh Inglis will likely be included.
Australia will arrive in India about seven days before the opening Test in Nagpur on February 9 with McDonald comfortable with the lack of a warm-up match. There are plans for a pre-tour camp in Sydney where they can control the conditions they practice in as happened in Melbourne before they went to Pakistan last year.
“We would prefer a centre wicket in India to go through some scenario training, and we feel as though with this experienced group also that have been there before, that they won’t need as long to adapt to the conditions,” McDonald said.
“We can be creative in our own conditions. We’ve done it before with the Pakistan build-up in Melbourne. Dusting up wickets, working with the local groundsmen who really help us in and around the country. We feel as though we can get as close to that as possible without necessarily having a practice game.”
Possible Australia squad for India tour:
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Ashton Agar, Lance Morris, Mitchell Swepson, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Todd Murphy.
(Cricinfo)