Australian selectors have elected to pick a youthful 16-man Test squad for the side's tour of Sri Lanka, which begins later this month.

Pat Cummins will miss the tour of Sri Lanka for the birth of his second child, with Steve Smith leading the side in his absence.

Australia has announced its squad for the upcoming two-Test match series in Sri Lanka, starting on January 29. The 16-member squad includes some fresh faces and notable omissions, with Steven Smith taking over as captain in Pat Cummins' absence.

The SCG pitch for the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India, which was dominated by pace bowlers who gained lavish seam movement and some uneven bounce, has been rated "satisfactory" by the ICC match referee, and Cricket Australia has termed it a "step in the right direction" for surfaces at the venue.

The SCG pitch which produced a short but scintillating three-day Test between Australia and India was given the second top category ‘satisfactory” by the International Cricket Council despite Australian opener Usman Khawaja calling it a “stinker”.

Sydney: Four out of five pitches used in the recent Border-Gavaskar Test series between India and Australia have been rated 'very good' by the ICC, which found the track for the fifth and final game in Sydney to be 'satisfactory,