Cricket Australia selectors announced a 13-man squad for the first three matches of the ODI series against India on Monday.
There are some big surprises in the squad selection as uncapped seamers Joel Paris and Scott Boland have been included for this limited-over series.
Paris is a serious talent and that has been acknowledged by many cricket experts in Australia, including the former cricketer Tom Moody. Paris has been consistently performing well in the domestic circuit and his ability to swing the ball made him a good choice for the selectors.
"Joel is an exciting young left-arm bowler, who swings the ball well and has bowled beautifully in the Big Bash League for the Perth Scorchers. He has had very good figures in short-form cricket and we really want him to make the most of this opportunity," chairman of selectors Rod Marsh told reporters after announcing the 13-man squad.
All-rounder Shane Watson has been overlooked along with Nathan Lyon, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns and Ashton Agar.
"Watto by no means is out of the picture. It's a matter of him showing us what he can do. We know what we can do, but it's up to these other guys now to grab the opportunity. It (his form) was a bit of an issue, there's no doubt about that. We obviously would like to see him in better form," selector Trevor Hohns said.
Selectors noticed how hard Boland has been working to make it big, and thus decided to provide him with an opportunity on the big stage.
"Scott has continued to impress the selection panel having bowled very well for Victoria this year," Marsh said. "He certainly deserves this chance at the top level."
Shaun Marsh continued to press the selectors for an inclusion with a string of outstanding performances in the Big Bash League, after he was dropped from the Test XI against West Indies, despite scoring a brilliant 184, and he has been rewarded with a place in the team. His younger brother Mitchell Marsh has also been named in the ODI squad to play against India.
Paris, Boland, Kane Richardson, Shaun Marsh and Matthew Wade are the five players in this Aussie squad who were not a part of the World Cup 2015 winning side.
The first ODI of the five-match series will be played on 12 January at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) in Perth. India will also play two warm-up games against Western Australia XI on Friday and Saturday, one of which is a T20 match.
Australia ODI squad: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith (C), Shaun Marsh, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), James Faulkner, Kane Richardson, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Joel Paris.
