The top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne has been named in the Australia squad for the upcoming Test series against South Africa.

He retained his place in the Test squad despite his prolonged poor run in the format, creating concerns over his future. Labuschagne has been dropped from the ODI squad against South Africa.

He was part of the Australia squad that played against Bangladesh, where they levelled the series 1-1. Labuschagne, who has been playing at No.3 for over seven years, scored only 36 runs in the three innings against Bangladesh.

“Not shying away from the fact that we’d like some more runs from Marn, that’s clear.

“Our batting group in its entirety, not just Marn, probably hasn’t been functioning as successfully as we would like, but … we’ve continued to win a lot of Test matches over that period, and that, ultimately, is the key, isn’t it?”

Meanwhile, three players have been added to the squad that played against Bangladesh at home. Cooper Connolly, Matthew Kuhnemann and Michael Neser are the additions as extra cover for different conditions the Aussies are expecting in South Africa.

Neser, who was born in South Africa, missed the Bangladesh series and will be fit for the upcoming series starting on October 09.

“(He’s) sort of just getting back to the point of getting reintegration back to bowling and getting those loads up over the next few weeks,” he said.

“But as it stands, barring any setbacks, the timeline is pretty clear that he should be right to go.”

“The squad provides balance and options for each Test and the variety of conditions we may face.”

The series will be Australia’s first Test tour of South Africa since the infamous ball-tampering scandal in 2018.

Australia currently sits at the top of the WTC 2025-27 points table, with reigning champions South Africa in second.

Australia Squad for Bangladesh Tests: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster