Australia announce 15-member squad for India tour and T20 World Cup, Tim David handed maiden call-up

Cricket Australia, on Thursday (September 1), announced a 15-player squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup at home. The same team will travel to India for three T20Is later this month from September 20 to 25. Tim David has sensationally earned his maiden call-up to play for Australia after making a huge impact in T20 league globally.

David has so far played 14 T20Is, all for Singapore, scoring 558 runs at a strike-rate of 158.52 and an average of 46.50. Overall, he has featured in 122 T20 matches in his career amassing 2640 runs at a brilliant strike-rate of 164.17 with 11 half-centuries to his name. Certainly, his addition will give greater depth to the Aussies in their batting line-up.

"Tim continues to establish himself with some quality performances in leagues around the world, earning a place in the squad. He is a highly gifted, natural ball-striker who will add extra batting depth to the group which has had a lot of success in T20 cricket. We expect him to play a similar role to that he has been playing in the past few years," chief selector George Bailey said according to ESPNCricinfo.

Australia drop Mitchell Swepson

Interestingly, the only change from the last year's T20 World Cup winning Australian squad has been Tim David's inclusion. Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson has been dropped for him while the rest of the group remains same. It will be interesting to see if David gets a chance into the playing XI. However, skipper Aaron Finch and management would certainly want to have a look at him during the India tour later this month.

As for the rest of the squad, Mitchell Marsh is injured currently but the selectors seem to be confident of him regaining his fitness. He got injured during the ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe and has been ruled out of the three-match series. David Warner has been rest for the three T20Is in India while Cameron Green will feature in the squad only for the tour.

Australia squad for T20 World Cup 2022: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis Matthew Wade, David Warner Adam Zampa, Cameron Green (Only for India tour)