Cricket Australia has confirmed that David Warner and Steve Smith will not play against Pakistan, but rather in the IPL in order to first regain match fitness for the World Cup. 

Australia face Pakistan in the UAE in their last ODI series before the World Cup.

Ball-tampering banned duo Smith and Warner, whose bans end on 28 March, have been excluded from the squad and were told they must first regain fitness in the IPL after both players underwent surgery.

‘While their bans will be finished on March 28, Steve and David have been working through rehabilitation from elbow surgery, and it has been agreed the best pathway for them to return to play is in the Indian Premier League, a strong competition which features some of the world’s best players,’ chief national selector Trevor Hohns said.

‘David will play with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Steve with Rajastan Royals.

‘Cricket Australia will continue to liaise with both Steve, David and their IPL clubs to monitor progress as we build towards the ICC World Cup and the Ashes.’

The five-match ODI series starts on 22 March.

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa