Australia announce stand-in captain for Sri Lanka series with Pat Cummins on paternity leave Cummins is missing the series – which begins later this month – for the birth of his second child.
Smith will captain a side that includes Nathan McSweeney, who opened in three of the Tests in the recent series against India, and 19-year-old Sam Konstas, who originally replaced McSweeney for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Smith will lead Australia in their three-match series against Sri Lanka, which takes place across January and February, having last captained the side in March 2018.
The 35-year-old previously served a one-year ban from cricket for his involvement in a 2018 ball-tampering scandal that took place in the third Test of a series against South Africa, and he was also banned from captaining the side in any format for two years.
But Smith returns as captain for this series, which includes two Tests and one ODI and begins on 29 January in Galle.
