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Khawaja, Cummins to star for Australia A

Potential-packed squads named to travel to India for winter 'A' series contests

Usman Khawaja will captain Australia A while World Cup speedster Patrick Cummins will make his long-awaited return to red ball cricket on their winter tour of India.

In a squad packed with potential that highlights the depth of Australian cricket, World Cup star Glenn Maxwell will also join the Australia A squad, with Cricket Australia National Selector Rod Marsh suggesting he was unlucky to miss out on a Test berth.

"You know I rate him (Maxwell) very highly," Marsh said in Melbourne today. "I love watching him play. 

"I'd love to have him in every side that I could. It's a tragedy we can't play him in every game at the moment, but watch this space."

Maxwell will spend the majority of his winter in India with the A tour to be preceeded by a stint in the Indian Premier League with the Kings XI Punjab franchise.

Cummins last played a first-class game in July 2013, but a remodelled action after a series of back injuries saw the 21-year-old play a vital role in Australia's successful World Cup campaign.

Cummins played a solitary Test in November 2011 as an 18-year-old. He played two World Cup games, taking five wickets at 16, but Josh Hazlewood was preferred for the tournament's latter stages to partner Mitchell Starc with the new ball.

Khawaja is currently recuperating from a left knee reconstruction after suffering the serious injury during a training session with his KFC T20 Big Bash League club the Sydney Thunder.

Khawaja last played a Test during the 2013 Ashes tour and had been in fine form for Queensland during last year's Matador One-Day Cup, scoring 523 runs at 74.71, including a top score of 166, before the injury.

The left-hander is expected back in the nets by the end of April and said he was confident he would be fit to take his place as captain on the A tour.

"It will around the seven month mark when the A tour gets underway so all going to schedule, I will have had enough time to be back batting well before then," Khawaja said.

"It is all on track at the moment. The rehabilitation is hard work but I can notice the improvement and the Indian tour is very achievable.

"I'm keen to build on my captaincy experience and this tour will be a great opportunity to do that.''

Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel named two Australia A squads – one for four-day cricket and another one-day team – to play a series of matches in India throughout July. They will play two four-day matches and five one-day games throughout the tour.

India A visited Australia last winter, playing matches in Brisbane and Darwin.

Two-Test batsman Joe Burns, who was supplanted in the Australian Test squads for the Caribbean and UK winter tours by Adam Voges, joins the Australia A squads, along with Victorian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who is now third in the pecking order after Peter Nevill was named as Brad Haddin's understudy.

Marsh said Voges sheer weight of runs in the Bupa Sheffield Shield had pushed him ahead of Burns, who the National Selector said would benefit from spending the winter on India's dry pitches.

"It's worked out quite nicely for Joe in a lot of ways in as much as he'll be going to India, where he's never played," said Marsh.

"I reckon that will be very very good for his overall development as a batsman."

Burns has played cricket in India - in the Twenty20 Champions League with the Brisbane Heat, but is champing at the bit to play some red-ball cricket on the subcontinent.

"I've been in India once with the Brisbane Heat for the Champions League, but this will be a good chance to play longer form cricket with the red ball in those sort of conditions so I'm looking forward to challenging myself,'' he said.

Wade is another who selectors are hoping will gain more benefit from playing in India where the Victorian has been sent.

"Nevill has bashed the door down, and Matthew Wade has had a good (Shield) season as well," said Marsh.

"I'm not sure what you can read into that we have picked Wade in the A team, that's up to you (the media) to read into it what you want."

The A squad also includes spinner Ashton Agar, who lost out to Fawad Ahmed as Australia's second spinner for the Test tours of the West Indies and the UK.

Western Australian opener Cameron Bancroft, Tasmania fast-bowler Andrew Fekete and Victorian duo Peter Handscomb and Marcus Stoinis have been rewarded for strong performances in the Shield with selection in the four-day squad.

The four-day squad features nine players with senior Australia experience, including NSW Blues trio Stephen O'Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu and Nic Maddinson.

Australia A four-day squad

Usman Khawaja (c), Matthew Wade (vc), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Patrick Cummins, Andrew Fekete, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu, Marcus Stoinis.

Australia A one-day squad

Usman Khawaja (c), Matthew Wade (vc), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Callum Ferguson, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Gurinder Sandhu, Adam Zampa.