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Ben McDermott and Travis Head earn T20I call-ups for Sri Lanka series

David Warner and Mitchell Marsh have been rested, while head coach Justin Langer will take time off

Andrew McGlashan
Andrew McGlashan
25-Jan-2022
Ben McDermott's impressive BBL season has been rewarded  •  Getty Images

Ben McDermott's impressive BBL season has been rewarded  •  Getty Images

Ben McDermott, the BBL Player of the Tournament, has been recalled to Australia's T20I squad for the series against Sri Lanka next month along with Travis Head, Moises Henriques and Jhye Richardson.
David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, who both starred during Australia's T20 World Cup triumph in the UAE last year, will be rested ahead of the Pakistan tour, while head coach Justin Langer along with some other support staff will miss the five-match series, meaning assistant coach Andrew McDonald will take charge of the squad. Josh Hazlewood returns after the side injury that restricted him to just one Test during the Ashes.
McDermott, who made 577 runs for Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, and Sydney Sixers captain Henriques, were part of the squad that toured the West Indies and Bangladesh last year before missing selection for the World Cup.
Head, who was Player of the Series in the Ashes, is in line for his first T20I appearance since 2018, having previously played 16 times in the format where he made his international debut in 2016.
"He hasn't played a great deal of white-ball cricket," national selector George Bailey said. "It's one of those conundrums which faces a number of players that when they do get a bit of a run in in one format, be that domestically or for the national side, it quite often comes at the expense of another format. But Trav's a very talented cricket across all three formats. I think we're seeing him come into the best years of his life, hopefully, in terms of the way he plays his cricket.
"We saw the way that he played and the tempo that he played his Test cricket. His domestic one-day record over the past couple of years has been phenomenal. The one part of his game that he probably hasn't had the continuity or the time to focus on his been his T20 cricket. But if you go back through his history there's a skillset there that that lends itself to that format."
Richardson is included in a T20I squad for the first time since the tour of New Zealand last February. He featured in one Ashes Test, taking a five-wicket haul in Adelaide, before picking up a lower leg injury. He was later confirmed that he would not be considered for the Pakistan tour as his workloads are carefully managed.
The remainder of the bowling attack is made up of first-choice names, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, the latter has opted out of the IPL auction, both included alongside white-ball specialists Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa. Bailey indicated that the fast bowlers would be unlikely to play all the matches although the postponement of the New Zealand series has reduced the demands a little.
With the defence of their World Cup title just nine months away it is unlikely there will be significant turnover in the squad but Bailey wants to ensure there is depth available for all positions.
"There's not going to be a huge amount of change I wouldn't have envisaged over the next 12 months in the lead up to this year's World Cup. But what we are after are really specific replacements and opportunities for guys should the need arise to use them in the lead up to October."
Legspinner Mitchell Swepson is the only other member of the 15-player T20 World Cup squad not included for this series. Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis and Daniel Sams were travelling reserves for the tournament. Ellis has missed the second half of the BBL through injury.
Squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Josh Inglis, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo