Steve Smith will lead Australia in the upcoming three-match ODI series against India as regular skipper Pat Cummins will remain at home following the demise of his mother.
Earlier, Cummins had left the India tour midway just after the conclusion of the second Test in Delhi to be at the side of his mother Maria, who passed away due to breast cancer last week while the final match in Ahmedabad was being played. Later, Smith led the touring side in the last two Tests in his absence.
“Pat won’t be coming back, he’s still taking care of what’s happened back home. Our thoughts are with Pat and his family as they go through that grieving process,” head coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
Cummins has not been replaced in the 15-man squad, but Nathan Ellis was recently recalled after Jhye Richardson, who suffered a recurrence of a left hamstring injury while playing club cricket, was ruled out of the India ODIs.
McDonald also confirmed David Warner is set to return to the side after missing the last two Tests due to a fractured elbow. Ashton Agar has also returned to India after being sent home midway through the Test series.
The ODI series also marks the return of Glenn Maxwell from the badly-broken leg he suffered last November while Mitchell Marsh also got back in the mix after the ankle surgery which disrupted his home season following the T20 World Cup.
The first ODI of the three-match series is slated to take place on March 17 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Australia squad:
Steve Smith (C), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa