Glenn Maxwell ruled out of South Africa tour; D'Arcy Short announced as replacement

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Glenn Maxwell returned to the Australian team after a good outing in the recently concluded Big Bash League but he may have to wait longer as the need for a surgery on his left elbow has ruled him out of the South Africa tour. Maxwell will miss both the T20I and ODIs against the Proteas and will be replaced by D'Arcy Short in the touring squad.

Maxwell picked up the injury during the fag end of BBL 09 season and will have surgery on the joint on Thursday in Melbourne. An increase in pain and scans revealed some loose bone fragments and thus the need to go under the knife for the all-rounder.

The Melbourne Stars captain is set to be out of action for for six to eight weeks, but he is expected to be available the 13th edition of Indian Premier League with franchise Kings XI Punjab. However, if the recovery takes eight weeks from Thursday, he could miss a few games for KXIP.

This was the first time Maxwell was selected for the national team since taking a break from cricket last year due to mental health issues. His form for the Stars promted the selectors to pick him over Marcus Stoinis, who has been overlooked again despite a very good BBL.

"We are disappointed to lose Glenn this close to the tour as we were looking forward to welcoming him back to the national side in both the 20- and 50-over formats after his break during the summer.

"Unfortunately, the pain he has experienced in the elbow in the latter stages of the BBL increased over the weekend and he will have surgery immediately to rectify the situation.

"An opportunity has now presented itself for D'Arcy and we're confident he'll make the most of whatever opportunities come his way in South Africa.

"Like Glenn, D'Arcy is an inventive, hard-hitting batsman who offers a handy spin-bowling option. We have no doubt he will make a positive contribution to the squad," Australia's National Selector Trevor Hohns said.

Maxwell was also disappointed with the development and said that the decision to not play in South Africa was difficult but he it was the only option left.

"I was not confident that I could perform at international level with my elbow in its current state and have decided to undergo surgery straight away to fix the issue," Maxwell said in a statement.

"I would like to thank Justin Langer, Ben Oliver, Trevor Hohns and the whole Australian squad for their understanding."

Replacing the Victorian is Short, who was a member of Australia's ODI tour to India in January after being called in as an injury replacement for NSW quick Sean Abbott.

Short had a good BBL outing with the Hobart Hurricanes this summer, scoring 357 runs at a strike rate of 131.25 with a high score of 103 not out against Perth Scorchers. He also picked up six wickets for the tournament, including a career-best haul of 5-21 in Hobart's win over Sydney Thunder.

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (C), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins, Mitch Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (C), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa