After losing the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, Pat Cummins-led Australia will be kicking off the new 2025-27 cycle by taking on the West Indies. Both sides will take on each other in a multi-format series where they will face off across three tests and will follow it up with five T20I matches.
With the first Test of the series set to begin from June 25, Cricket Australia took centre stage and announced some major changes to their squad for the first Test. Star batter Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped from the first Test squad, with Steve Smith being ruled out of the clash as well due to injury.
In their place, Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis have come in for the Aussies. The two changes will see Australia have a significantly different batting attack from their WTC final loss to South Africa.
It is worth noting that this will be Sam Konstas’ third cap after his two outings against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Furthermore, with his subpar form still continuing, Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped from the longest format.
George Bailey reflects on decision to drop Labuschagne
Furthermore, Cricket Australia’s chair of selectors, George Bailey, came forward and talked about how big of an asset Labuschagne is to Australia’s Test side but also gave his thoughts on his struggle with form.
"Marnus at his best can be a really important member of this team. He understands his output hasn't been at the level we, or he, expects. We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover. We continue to value his skill and expect him to work through the challenge positively,” Bailey was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
As for Steve Smith, the star batter misses out after he sustained a compound dislocation in his finger during the WTC final. He has avoided getting surgery and will be wearing a splint on his finger for two weeks.