Western Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis will make his international debut as Australia make two changes for the start of the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.
Captain Aaron Finch stated this on Thursday.
Inglis will bat at No 3 but will not keep wicket, with Matthew Wade continuing behind the stumps, Finch said on the eve of the first match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Opening batter Ben McDermott joins Inglis as additions to the lineup from November’s victorious Twenty20 World Cup final team. David Warner and Mitch Marsh are being rested.
English-born Inglis, who moved to Australia at the age of 14, was not prolific in the domestic Big Bash League (BBL) season just ended, but is rated highly in the Australia camp.
“He hasn’t got the runs he would have liked throughout the Big Bash as he has done in the past … so it’s a great opportunity for him,” Finch said of the 26-year-old Inglis.
As for McDermott, the leading BBL run-scorer, Finch said he had been “in unbelievable nick so to get him at the top of the order was really crucial for us.”
Australia and Sri Lanka will play a five-match series between Friday and February 20, two games in Sydney, one in Canberra and two in Melbourne.
Sri Lanka will initially at least be without batter Kusal Mendis, who tested positive for Covid-19 and has been in isolation since Monday.
SuperSport/Mercy Chukwudiebere
