Australia recall Faulkner, Coulter-Nile for India tour

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Australia recall Faulkner, Coulter-Nile for India tour

Australia have recalled all-rounder James Faulkner and pacer Nathan Coulter-Nilefor their upcoming tour of India. While Faulkner makes his way back to the ODI squad, Coulter-Nile finds a place in squads of both the limited-overs formats. The T20I squad also includes uncapped left-arm pacer Jason Beherendorff, who averages 19.47 for his 53 scalps in 38 T20s.

Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, continues his recovery from an injury to his right foot away from the game. The spearhead of Australia’s bowling attack sustained the injury midway through Australia’s Test tour of India early this year. He played the Champions Trophy but has been given more time to return to his best.

With the upcoming Ashes series in mind, Starc has not been included in Australia’s two-Test tour of Bangladesh (starting from August 27) as well as the India tour.

Australian team physiotherapist David Beakley explained that that the fast bowler’s recovery has been slower than expected:

“We have recently reviewed the progress of Mitchell’s right foot injury and the healing process has been slower than we would have liked.”

“Consequently, in order to ensure his best possible preparation for the Ashes, he will be unavailable for the Tour of India and will continue his rehab in Australia with an aim to have him play for New South Wales in the domestic one-day cup.”

Australia are scheduled to play five ODIs and three T20Is in India during the months of September and October this year.

ODI squad: Steve Smith, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Adam Zampa

T20I squad: Steve Smith, David Warner, Jason Behrendorff, Daniel Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa

After constantly being laid low by injuries, Coulter-Nile found success while representing Kolkata Knight Riders during IPL 2017. The fast bowler, who bagged 15 wickets in eight games for KKR, is expected to make a big impression during the India tour. Cricket Australia selector Trevor Hohns talked up Coulter-Nile’s return while also praising all-rounder Faulkner’s familiarity with the sub-continent.

“Nathan brings raw pace to the side with good variation. It is great to see him back from injury and we are hopeful he will have a big impact in this series. “James Faulkner is a solid One-Day campaigner and is very familiar with sub-continent conditions, coming off a very good tour of Sri Lanka last year. We hope that he will take his chance in returning to the one-day side,”

Hohns said.

Cricket Australia have also invested some amount of faith in Western Australia all-rounder Hilton Cartwright, picking him in both the squads. Cartwright, who made his Test debut for Australia earlier this year, comes with the reputation of being a big-hitter and is expected to slot into the shorter format with ease.

“Hilton is an aggressive striker of the ball and we think his game will be well suited to the transition to short-form cricket,”

Hohns opined.

While wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine has kept his T20I spot despite poor outings with the bat during the home series against Sri Lanka in February, all-rounder Daniel Christian braces himself for a return to the national side after more than three years.