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Australia, on Monday, announced the playing XI for the upcoming first One-Day International (ODI) of the five-match series against Sri Lanka. The opening fixture is scheduled to take place at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The tourists will look to carry the same momentum as was in the recently-concluded T20I series that Australia won 2-1. Though, the hosts would also be confident heading into the first ODI as they triumphed in the final game thanks to a sparkling 54 off 25 balls by skipper Dasun Shanaka.
Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch confirmed the playing XI for the first ODI, which will feature the return of Test skipper Pat Cummins. The right-arm pacer last played an ODI fixture against India during the 2020-21 summer. David Warner and Steve Smith, who have also been absent from ODIs over the same period, have also made their comeback in the ODI setup.
Australia’s playing XI for the first ODI:
Aaron Finch (captain), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Josh Hazlewood
Kane Richardson ruled out of the ODI series
While announcing the playing XI, captain Finch revealed that fast bowler Kane Richardson has been ruled out of the ODI leg due to an injury he sustained in the warm-up ahead of the last T20I.
Finch mentioned that Richardson, who was added to the ODI squad following injuries to Mitchell Starc (sliced finger), Sean Abbott (broken finger) and Mitchell Marsh (calf strain), played the third T20I with the tendon injury on Saturday.
“I wasn’t aware of (the injury) during the game, so that was pretty big of him to get through a T20 game of that intensity,” said Finch, as quoted by Cricket.com.au.
