Mitchell Swepson, Jackson Bird included in Australia's tour of Bangladesh

23-year-old Aussie Mitchell Swepson has been included in the squad for the country’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh. The leg spinner has been called in for Mitchell Starc who has been forced to the sidelines due to injury. Swepson is a complete fresher in the circuit without a single cap under his belt. The youngster got a shock call up when Australia toured India earlier this year but did not get the opportunity to prove himself.

Pattinson ruled out:

The 23-year old has played only 14 first-class games but has grabbed the eyeballs picking 41 wickets at an average of 32.82. However, there is disappointing news in the Australian camp as James Pattinson has been ruled out of the series owing to an inflammation in his back. According to reports, it is in the same area where the bowler suffered a stress fracture. But the bowler has been allowed to time to recover fully from the damage and hence will not be a part of the tour.

The injured Pattinson has been replaced by Jackson Bird. Australia will now have three specialist spinners in the form of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird. The spin department has Ashton Agar, Nathan Lyon and the newly added Mitchell Swepson.

“We are comfortable with the fast-bowling stocks we have in the squad so have opted to add an additional spinner given the conditions we are likely to face in Bangladesh,” Trevor Hohns, national selector, said. “Mitchell is a very exciting young leg-spinner who we think will benefit immensely from further experience in the sub-continent.”

However, the Bangladeshis are confident of beating the Aussies at home. Citing the example of the successful home series against England, Bangladesh cricketer Nasir Hossain pointed out that the Tigers are capable of beating the Kangaroos under any circumstances. Though there is no certainty over the tour because of the pay dispute between the Aussie cricketers and Cricket Australia, the Bangladeshis are training hard for the battle.

Squad: Steven Smith (C), David Warner (VC), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade (WK), Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Jackson Bird, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson