Ashton Agar’s hopes of an Australian Test recall in Sri Lanka are over after failing to recover from a side strain.

Agar was ruled out of the second Test on Saturday morning with Australia bringing Jon Holland into their 17-man squad.

He had been considered a serious chance of playing in the series in Sri Lanka despite not featuring in a Test since 2017. He was hurt in Australia’s opening one-day international three weeks ago.

Agar’s absence means Mitchell Swepson will likely keep his spot when the second Test starts on Friday. Legspinner Swepson claimed three wickets in the first innings of the opening Test and two in the second as Australia posted a 10-wicket win.

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