Despite only featuring in the limited-overs side for the month-long series, Australia’s newly-appointed men’s cricket team head coach Andrew McDonald has stated that he may be tempted to include limited-overs specialist Glenn Maxwell in the Test side during the upcoming multi-format series in Sri Lanka.
Despite speculation that he would be named to the Test squad as well, Cricket Australia (CA) named the 33-year-old player only to the white-ball squads last week. The limited-overs specialist has only played seven Tests in his career, the most recent of which was in 2017 against Bangladesh in Chattogram, where he made 38 and an unbeaten 25.
However, the new coach, who took over from Justin Langer prior to the Pakistan tour, is aware of Maxwell’s prowess with the bat and ball, having played alongside the right-hander for Victoria last decade and later coaching the 33-year-old.
McDonald is also aware of Glenn Maxwell’s ability to perform well on subcontinent pitches, citing his incredible Test tonne against India in Ranchi.
“It is always a contemplation (to include Maxwell) and I think with 32 players being there (in Sri Lanka) at the one point in time all options are still open,” McDonald said on SEN on Tuesday. “So you never know with what is going to happen. He has got a great record in the sub-continent, and in India in particular with that hundred in Ranchi and he can also give us off-spin.”
McDonald stated that it was critical for Cricket Australia to remain loyal to the Test side that won the three-match Test series against Pakistan 1-0 in March, which was one of the reasons Maxwell was not selected for a Test berth.
“There was a small discussion about what it (including Maxwell) potentially looked like, but (we felt we needed to) reward the team that went to Pakistan and how that squad went about its work. It was always going to be very difficult to change.”
The first T20I of the tour against Sri Lanka is scheduled for June 7. The Test series will begin on June 29th.
(Inputs from IANS)