Steve Smith will lead Australia for their tour of Sri Lanka, with captain Pat Cummins on paternity leave.

Smith was previously handed a two-year leadership ban as a result of the ball-tampering scandal in 2018 but will step in to captain the side for a fifth time since, with Cummins missing the series for the birth of his second child.

Josh Hazlewood will also miss out as he recovers from a calf injury he sustained during Australia's 3-1 victory over India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Nathan McSweeney, who was dropped after the third Test in the India series having scored just 72 runs in six innings, regains his place, with replacement Sam Konstas also in the squad.

Spinner Cooper Connolly earns his first Test call-up having previously played two one-day internationals and two T20Is.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been left out of the squad after struggling against India, with Beau Webster, who replaced him for the final Test in Sydney, keeping his spot.

Australia will play two Tests against Sri Lanka, with the first starting on 29 January, before finishing with a one-off ODI on 13 February.

Introducing our 16-player squad for our Qantas Men’s Tour of Sri Lanka #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/BUWJHr5Zz4
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) January 9, 2025

Australia Test squad for Sri Lanka:

Steve Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.