Australia Ashes Squad Sees Fawad Ahmed Named for 2015 England Series

Fawad Ahmed has been selected ahead of Ashton Agar as Australia's second spinner in the squad for the upcoming Ashes and West Indies tours.

Announced on Tuesday, the 17-man squad includes the Pakistan-born leg-spinner alongside Nathan Lyon, as the newly-crowned world champions head to the Caribbean ahead of their bid to win the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001.

Cricket Australia relayed the full squad, announced 99 days ahead of the first ball being bowled in the Ashes:

The 33-year-old Ahmed was the leading wicket-taker in the 2014-15 Sheffield Shield—taking 48 scalps at an average of 24.85, per ESPN Cricinfo—and he has been rewarded with a likely Test debut for Australia. 

Before of the announcement, Agar had been tipped by many to be picked ahead of Ahmed, but the 21-year-old—a folk hero from the opening Test of the 2013 Ashes when he scored 98 batting No. 11 at Trent Bridge—was a victim of a number of close calls in the squad, per The Sun's John Etheridge:

Ahmed will be looking to prove himself against the West Indies in order to sew up a spot in the eagerly anticipated Ashes series, which the Aussies must be very confident of winning.