Maxwell, Stoinis’ poor form reason for exclusion from ODI squad for India tour, reveals Justin Langer

With Maxwell being available for selection after taking a mental-health break, his exclusion has been one of the talking points after the Australian selection panel announced a 14-member squad. The same is the case with fellow all-rounder Stoinis, who had played a part in the Aussies’ World Cup run earlier this year. However, Langer defended the decision as neither one has been at the top of their game in the last few months.

"As I've said many, many times, we love having him (Maxwell) in the team, we love his energy, we love his talent. But the truth is he hasn't performed very well over the last 12 months. He had a brilliant series in the UAE against Pakistan but the World Cup and some series before that hasn't been his best. We're sure he'll get back to his best and we're looking forward to that," Langer said, reported Cricbuzz.

"He'll (Stoinis) be the first to admit he went (to the World Cup) as a batting all-rounder and his batting results haven't been up to the standard he'd expect and we'd expect,” he said.

Among the 14 players that will make the trip, Langer is confident that the seemingly unstoppable Labuschagne will integrate well into the ODI setup. The 49-year-old is also keen to have senior bowler Hazlewood back in the mix. 

"He's (Labuschagne) a very good player of spin bowling. He's a good fielder, he bowls leg-spin, he gives us some good options and he's in the form of his life, isn't he? Hopefully, that's going to work out to be a good selection as well,” Langer said.

"It will be nice to have Josh back in the ODI squad. He's bowling really well. He was the No. 1 bowler in the world not that long ago in one-day cricket. Hopefully, his hammy will come up, whether it's for Sydney or certainly those one-dayers. I know he's excited about being back in the one-day squad,” he continued.

The Aussies, whose last trip to India for ODIs was a successful one, will be without their head coach Langer, who is set to take a break with assistant coach Andrew McDonald taking over the main responsibilities. 

"I've been on the road for 18 months now, and we have a lot coming up. It's going to be a really good opportunity for Andrew McDonald and Graeme Hick (batting coach) and a couple of other guys who are going to help out as well. So really good opportunities. So it'll be nice to recharge the batteries and get ready for South Africa, New Zealand and everything that's coming up after that," Langer added.