India Vs Australia: Aussie trio Siddle, Lyon and Khawaja return for India ODIs

Sydney, Jan 4: Peter Siddle is back from the one-day international wilderness after Australia overhauled their squad for the upcoming ODI series against India.

Veteran paceman Siddle has not played an ODI since 2010 but the 34-year-old has been included in the 14-man team for the three-match series, starting in Sydney on January 12.

Batsman Usman Khawaja – who last played an ODI for Australia in January 2017 – has also been recalled, along with star spinner Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh and Peter Handscomb following Australia's revamp.

Travis Head, Chris Lynn, D'Arcy Short, Ben McDermott and Ashton Agar have been dumped following the 2-1 series loss to South Africa last year as Australia look ahead to the Cricket World Cup in England.

Captain Aaron Finch, Alex Carey, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa are the only survivors from that side after Nathan Coulter-Nile succumbed to a back problem, while selectors opted to rest Test trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

"After a disappointing period in ODI cricket, the National Selection Panel along with team coaches have reviewed our performances across this format and we've identified a number of key areas that we feel we need to improve in order to help put this team in the best possible position to turn this period around," National selector Trevor Hohns said. "With this in mind and the World Cup looming, we've selected players we feel provide us with the flexibility to play a variety of roles at different stages of a match."

Hohns continued: "It's wonderful to have Peter back in the squad for the first time since 2010. His white ball cricket has improved considerably the older he has got, and his selection is great reward for his professionalism and strong leadership qualities."

"Usman is a batsman we know can put vital runs on the board at the top of the order, and Peter [Handscomb] is not only a fine player of spin bowling, he's also a batsman we know can hold an innings together while keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Mitch gives us another all-round option with his ability with both bat and ball," he continued. "Travis Head, D'Arcy Short and Chris Lynn have been unlucky to miss out. All three have had opportunities to cement their spots, but unfortunately, they have not been as productive as we would have liked in recent times when playing ODI cricket for Australia."

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.