Australia have named uncapped leg-break bowler Mitch Swepson as one of five spinners in their 16-man Test squad for the tour to India.
The 23-year-old joins Ashton Agar, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon and Stephen O’Keefe in the group for the four-Test series.
Hilton Cartwright, who made his Test debut at the SCG earlier this month, has been dropped to make room for another all-rounder alongside Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh.
Shaun Marsh returns to the side after breaking a finger during the recent Test series against South Africa, with his swift return to form in the Big Bash League for Perth Scorchers not going unnoticed.
Interim national selector Trevor Hohns said: “We don’t know what pitch conditions we will come up against in each of the venues but wanted to have flexibility and options available to us.
“We know India is an incredibly tough place to tour and have success in, with most International teams struggling to adapt to the conditions.
"We have chosen a squad which we believe will work really hard in its endeavours to perform well and give a good account of itself in the sub-continent. We expect all of the young players chosen to benefit immensely from the experience.
“Swepson is an exciting young leg-spinner that has come through the pathway system. We feel he has a lot of potential and want to see him take his opportunity in conditions that should suit him should he get a chance.
“Agar is a good left-arm orthodox spinner who can be very exciting with the bat and also fields extremely well. He provides us with a great all-round package.”
Australia last won a Test series in India in 2004, breaking a 35-year drought in the subcontinent, and will kick-off the first Test in Pune on February 23.
Squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O’Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade