Uncapped all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been included in the 14-member Australian squad for the second and final Test of the two-match series, beginning February 1 at the Manuka Oval in Griffith.
The 29-year-old, who has appeared in 24 ODIs and 17 T20Is for the national side but is yet to feature in the longest format of the game, seemed to have got the call on the back of his recent good performances with the limited-overs side and Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Admitting that Stoinis has been a consistent performer this season, national selector Trevor Hohns said that they have decided to add the Western Australian star so that they can have the flexibility to play an allrounder in case the conditions require an extra bowling option.
"The National Selection Panel has made the decision to add Marcus Stoinis to the Test squad for the second match against Sri Lanka in Canberra.We made the decision to add Marcus to give us the flexibility to play an allrounder in the event the conditions require an extra bowling option in the line- up," cricket.com.au quoted Hohns as saying.
"Marcus has been a consistent performer this season, he has displayed strong all round form in first-class cricket and continued that form into the Australian ODI series against India," he further went on to praise Stoinis.
Stoinis, who will join the Test squad as the only specialist allrounder, will continue to remain available for the Melnourne Stars' BBL clash against the Brisbane Heat at the MCG on Sunday.
The all-rounder struck a fifty besides also taking three wickets in his previous two BBL clashes for Stars. Meanwhile, he has also amassed 298 runs, including three half-centuries, at an average of 42.57 and bagged 10 wickets at 25.30 in his lastfour Sheffield Shield matches.
If Stoinis gets a chance to play in the upcoming match, he will become the 459th male cricketer for Australia to play in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Australia have released Matt Renshaw from the Test squad so that he could focus entirely on the BBL with Brisbane Heat.
Earlier, the hosts had taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match series after thrashing Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs in the opening Test at the Gabba.
The Australian squad for second Test is as follows:
Tim Paine (capt & wk), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle
