Mitchell Starc suffered from a soft tissue injury in his upper body
Pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will miss Australia's upcoming limited-overs series against India due to injuries, Cricket Australia announced on Thursday. Pat Cummins on the other hand is back into the mix and will be one of the vice captains in the squad.
Along with the duo, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh was also left out of the series due to injury concerns and bad form.
Starc, who was named man of the match for taking 10 wickets in the second Test against Sri Lanka, suffered from a soft tissue injury in his upper body and will therefore miss the India series.
Hazlewood on the other hand, is still recovering from a back injury sustained during the Test series against India.
"Unfortunately, scans have revealed that Mitchell Starc sustained a substantial tear to his left pec muscle while bowling on the final day of the Test match in Canberra," national selector Trevor Hohns said.
"This means he will be unavailable for the Tour of India, but we will instead target a return to play for the ODI Series against Pakistan in the UAE in March," he added.
Peter Siddle, who made a comeback in ODIs during the ODI series against India, was also axed along with Billy Stanlake.
"Peter Siddle and Mitch Marsh are unfortunate to miss out, but our message throughout the summer remains true, with such a big schedule ahead opportunities may well present themselves," Hohns said.
Coming into the squad in place of them are fast bowlers Kane Richardson and Nathan Coulter-Nile, and hard-hitting batsman Ashton Turner, who was on standby for an ill Mitchell Marsh for the Sydney ODI last month.
Kane and Turner have all been rewarded for their fantastic show in the Big Bash League while Coulter-Nile, who missed the ODI series against India, is fit to play again after recovering from his injury and playing consistently in the BBL for Perth Scorchers.
"Kane has been in outstanding form over the summer, including his recent performances in the BBL," said Hohns.
"Kane not only has experience playing ODI cricket for Australia, but he’s also performed well for his country when given the opportunity. Nathan Coulter-Nile provides us with another quality bowling option, he brings good energy in the field and can also score runs in high pressure situations," he added.
The tour will begin with the first T20I of the two-match series in Visakhapatnam on Februay 24 and will end with the fifth and final ODI in Delhi on March 13.
Australia T20I/ODI squad: Aaron Finch (C), Pat Cummins (VC), Alex Carey (VC), Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa
