Australian fringe spinners Agar, Murphy in mix for India Test series

Australia have named fringe spinners Ashton Agar and Todd Murphy in the Prime Ministers XI squad for the four-day tour match against the West Indies, keeping in mind next years tour of India.

Australia are slated to play four Tests and three ODIs during their tour of India in February-March next year.

Left-arm spinner Agar, who last played a Test in 2017, is coming back from a side strain. He has nine wickets from four Tests. From 61 first-class matches, the 29-year-old has an overall average of 41.28 and striking at 80.7. The uncapped 21-year-old off-spinner Murphy, on the other hand, has 18 wickets from four first-class matches with an average of 30.44.

Selection committee chairman George Bailey said they were looking at different options for the India tour compared to the squad for the home Tests against West Indies and South Africa.

“I would envisage the tour to India may have some different names to it than what the tour does over the (Australian) summer, just because of the conditions,” Bailey was quoted saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“There is every chance to be very different. Because its an away tour you take a slightly bigger squad anyway. Plus its at the back of a (home) summer and theres a reasonable amount of cricket that would have been played by then.” Middle order batter Peter Handscomb, who has been in peak form lately, could also be back in the reckoning.

“Pete remains absolutely on our radar,” Bailey said. “He was selected on the Australia A tour to Sri Lanka in the winter, (but missed it due to) having a baby at the same time. Hes started the season fantastically and finished the last Shield year fantastically.” The PM XIs match will start on November 23 and will be the West Indies warm-up fixture ahead of their two-Test series against Australia, which begins in Perth on November 30.

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