With Cricket Australia looking for David Warner’s like-for-like replacement across formats, the team is set to undergo massive changes, considering the ICC Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship Final being the next major tournaments. In the WTC 2023-25 cycle, the Pat Cummins-led Australia are set to travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series, scheduled to be held early in 2025.
As the Sri Lanka Test series will be the only subcontinent fixture for the team from down under, the side is looking to bring in several changes, one of them being Glenn Maxwell’s return to Test cricket. The Australian all-rounder, who last played a Test in 2017, is set to make a return in the longest format of the game. According to a report in the Sydney Herald, Maxwell could make a surprise Test comeback in February 2025.
“We priortise every Test, we’ll take that across the summer and see how the five Tests against India go and then we’ll make those decisions post that as to exactly how everyone’s travelling,” Selection Chair George Bailey said. “What we do know about Sri Lanka is that potentially the surfaces there do give you a bit of a different make-up of your Test side so it doesn’t tend to look exactly the same as what the Test team over the Australian summer might look like,” he further added.
With the Sri Lanka tour, Maxwell is expected to complement the duo of Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann and serve as a bowling all-rounder.
They still have me in their thoughts: Maxwell after last Sri Lanka tour
The Aussie all-rounder in November 2023 spoke how Cricket Australia still has him in their thoughts while highlight the significance of the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. “Just the fact I was able to be on the Sri Lanka tour last year is a sign they still have me in their thoughts and see me as an option. Regardless of whether I played one or 30 games in red-ball cricket, I’m still going to be an option to go over there,” he had said earlier.
“I think that’s why 2025 in Sri Lanka is something I’ve put in my calendar as something I’m hopeful to be part of, and not giving up hope that my Test cricket’s done. If I can get there and hopefully be good enough to take part in the series,” he added.