Australia is considering leaving out off-spinner Nathan Lyon and going with three fast bowlers in the second Test against Bangladesh. At the same time, batsman Matthew Renshaw’s return to the team has been confirmed.
Australian captain Pat Cummins was quoted by Cricket Australia as saying that the decision on the playing XI will be taken after inspecting the field conditions before the toss on Saturday.
The team management is considering going with a complete fast bowling attack with the inclusion of Scott Boland in view of the first Test to be held at the Great Barrier Reef Arena.
Australia has never dropped Lyon from the Test team due to his fitness under Cummins’ captaincy. However, in last year’s test played with pink ball, Australia twice took the field with all the fast bowlers without a spinner.
Renshaw played his last Test against India in 2023. Now his return is almost certain. He can be seen starting the innings again. Renshaw scored a century as an opening batsman at the age of 20 against Pakistan in 2016-17.
This Queensland batsman has also scored two centuries in first-class cricket at Mackay. He has come to the team in place of Jake Weatherald. Weatherald has been dropped from the team after just one test.
Australia team: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
Bangladesh team: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mehdi Hasan Miraj (vice-captain), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanjeed Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haq Shohrab, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Ameete Hasan, Zakir Ali Anik, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmood, Syed Khalid Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain Choudhary, Mushfiqur Hasan, Shariful Islam.