Nathan Lyon has been added into Australia's T20I squad for the remaining two games against India. The veteran off-spinner has replaced all-rounder Cameron Green, who has been released to play for Australia A in the three-day Test clash against the Indian side from December 6.
Green will be playing the tour games for Australia A before joining the national team for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Test series starting from December 17. The first Test of the series will be a Day/Night affair in Adelaide.
Lyon, who hasn't played a single game for Australia since the past two years, could be seen in action on Sunday in the second T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Having lost the first encounter in Canberra, the hosts might look to shuffle things up and level the series to stay in the contest. The third and final T20I of the series will also be played at the SCG.
Lyon will bolster the spin department alongside Mitchell Swepson, who had hogged headlines by dismissing India skipper Virat Kohli in the first T20I. Swepson led the spin attack alongside Adam Zampa.
33-year-old Lyon's inclusion comes in the wake of a series-ending calf injury to left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. Interestingly, Lyon, a Test regular for Australia, has played only two T20I games where he has scalped one wicket.
Meanwhile, Australia are still assessing Aaron Finch's availability for the upcoming two games. The hosts' skipper suffered a niggle on his hip during the first T20I. India too were struck with a massive blow on Friday after their star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the remainder of the series. Shardul Thakur has been announced as his replacement.
Australia T20I squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, D'Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa
