Australia names their Ashes squad, Usman Khawaja gets a call up

After the World Cup fever in the gulf, two of the greatest teams in the history of the sport will lock horns in what is called to be the greatest bilateral series of the world? Yes, Ashes is back and now Australia has named their squad for the first two matches of this historic test series.

Usman Khawaja gets a call up into the Australian side after some good performances in the Sheffield Shield. The 34-year-old is out of the Australian squad for almost two years now and now will have an opportunity to open with David Warner in the first test at Gabba, Brisbane. He will of course face some competition as Marcus Harris is also in the squad and is one of the favorites to open along with Warner.

Regarding his selection into the squad, the chairman of selector, George Bailey said, “Marcus has been a consistent run scorer domestically and had a strong winter further developing his game with Leicestershire. He is a good player who will be looking to build a strong partnership with David Warner at the top of the order”.

Bailey also spoke about the inclusion of Khawaja into the squad. He said, “Usman Khawaja has been in great touch. He brings a calm, consistent and experienced component to the batting line up and is a proven run scorer at Test level. He also has the ability to bat across a range of positions in the batting order”.

Uncapped leg spinner Mitchell Swepson also got a call up as he is selected as a backup of the legendary spinner, Nathan Lyon. Thus the Kangaroos are looking as solid as ever to win the Ashes this time. Here’s the entire squad that has been announced –

Australia - Tim Paine (C), Pat Cummins (VC), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner