Australian cricket icon Steve Smith will lead the national side in absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins in the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

Cummins is set to miss the series as he will be on paternity leave. He is also dealing with a slight ankle issue that was managed during the recent home summer.

The 35-year-old Smith was earlier banned from captaincy for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.

The veteran has been named as the interim captain as Australia announced their 16-member team for their two-Test tour of Sri Lanka beginning on January 29.

There is a first Test squad call-up for former Australia U19 Cricket World Cup captain Cooper Connolly, while fellow youngster Nathan McSweeney has been recalled despite missing the Melbourne and Sydney Tests in the recent Border-Gavaskar Series.

Josh Inglis and Sean Abbott, also included in the squad, could receive their first Test caps on the tour.

Spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy also make a return for the tourists, though the team will miss Josh Hazlewood with his calf injury and Mitchell Marsh, with the pair focussing on the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

The likes of Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa and Peter Handscomb, who were all thrown up as potential travellers for the tour, were not selected.

Australian chair of selectors George Bailey says the unique challenges of playing in Sri Lanka gives newer faces the opportunity to shine in red-ball action for their country.

“Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with. This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match.

“We are excited about the opportunity ahead for the squad members who are at the start of their Test careers to continue to grow their games in subcontinent conditions where we have a number of important tours in coming years.”

Whilst the two matches form part of the World Test Championship 2023-2025 cycle, final spots are already taken, with Australia (63.73% of possible points) and South Africa (69.44% of possible points) unable to be moved from the top two spots.

The Australians will face South Africa from June 11 at Lord's in defence of the World Test Championship mace, with the Proteas closing out their spot thanks to a victory over Pakistan in late 2024.

Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

(With additional inputs from ICC)