Australian head coach Andrew McDonald has explained why national selectors resisted the temptation of handing Glenn Maxwell a Test recall.
Maxwell’s absence from Australia’s red-ball team continued after he missed out on selection for the Test series against Sri Lanka starting in late June.
The 33-year-old was however selected in Australia’s ODI and T20 squads for the white-ball component of the Sri Lankan tour.
While McDonald acknowledged Maxwell’s “great” record in the sub-continent, he and national selectors ultimately decided to stick with largely the same squad that won 1-0 in Pakistan.
“There’s always a contemplation (for picking Maxwell),” McDonald told SEN’s Whateley.
“I think with 32 players being there at the one time, all options are still open. Clearly COVID has influenced a lot of tours as well, so you never know what’s going to happen.
“He’s got a great record in the sub-continent – and India in particular with that hundred at Ranchi, he can give us off-spin.
“There was a small discussion around what it potentially looked like, but I think the reward for the team that went to Pakistan and the squad that went about its work, it was always going to be difficult to change that way of playing.”
Maxwell’s seven Tests have all been played on the sub-continent. The all-rounder hasn’t played a Test match for Australia since 2017.
Australia is scheduled to play three T20s, five ODIs and two Test matches in its tour of Sri Lanka.
The opening T20I starts on June 7 in Colombo.