Cricket Australia has announced the ODI squad for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan and what is surprising is the names of David Warner and Steve Smith to be missing from the Australian squad despite their ban concluding on March 28.
"After consultation with members of the National Selection Panel, Greg Chappell and Head Coach Justin Langer, Interim EGM Team Performance Belinda Clark, CA Medical Team and both players, it has been agreed Steve Smith and David Warner will not be available for selection for the final two matches of the series against Pakistan," said Trevor Hohns, an Australian Selector.
David Warner and Steve Smith were found guilty of 'Ball Tampering' using a sandpaper in the Test Series against South Africa last year and were both banned for a year. Australian Cricket Team, after their ban, has been reeling in ODIs and with the World Cup 2019 around the corner, it is almost certain that the Australian selectors would have to select the duo.
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"While their bans will be finished on March 28, Steve and David have been working through rehabilitation from elbow surgery and it has been agreed the best pathway for them to return to play is in the Indian Premier League, a strong competition which features some of the world's best players," added Hohns.
"The squad has started this tour well against a very good Indian side, they won the T20I Series and have pushed the hosts in the opening two matches of the ODI series in challenging sub-continent conditions."
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa