Australia have confirmed a forced double change for their final group stage clash at the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan, with Aaron Finch and Tim David ruled out due to injury, while Mitchell Starc has also been left out.
The duo both picked up hamstring injuries during the tournament hosts last game against Ireland, which ended in a dominant win in Brisbane, albeit not big enough to secure a spot in the next round.
In their places, Cameron Green and Steve Smith have come into the side, while wicketkeeper Matthew Wade will stand in as captain for Finch, who could have played the last international game of his career, although he is yet to confirm he will retire from the shortest format of the game after taking that decision earlier this year in the 50-over format.
Mitchell Starc has been left out, with Kane Richardson coming into the side in what could only be described as a surprise selection.
It's anticipated that Green will open the batting, as he did when replacing David Warner in India recently, and again with both Warner and Finch in the side at the start of the home lead up games.
That will likely mean Steve Smith slots in at either number three or four, with a reshuffle of the batting order which will see Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis stretch down to number seven, with Tim David having batted at number six throughout the tournament thus far.
At the toss, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field, with the men in blue also confirming Rashid Khan would return.
Australia will need to record an enormous victory this evening following New Zealand's win over Ireland this afternoon, also in Adelaide.
Even a big win over Afghanistan may not be enough for the hosts to make the semi-finals of the tournament, with England still needing to either lose, or have a net run rate reversal against Sri Lanka in a small win tomorrow, with that game to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the Aussies to make the final four.
Australia XI
1. Cameron Green
2. David Warner
3. Mitchell March
4. Steve Smith
5. Glenn Maxwell
6. Marcus Stoinis
7. Matthew Wade (c, wk)
8. Pat Cummins
9. Kane Richardson
10. Adam Zampa
11. Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan XI
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)
2. Usman Ghani
3. Ibrahim Zadran
4. Gulbadin Naib
5. Darwish Rasooli
6. Najibullah Zadran
7. Mohammad Nabi
8. Rashid Khan
9. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
10. Naveen-ul-Haq
11. Fazalhaq Farooqi
The game is scheduled to get underway at 7pm (AEDT) - 6:30pm (local time) at the Adelaide Oval.
