Selectors rested fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, along with other Test players Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head.
McDonald is considering placing Sam Konstas in the vacant opener's position against India if the coaching staff believes he fits into their best XI.
With a lucrative five-Test home series against India starting in November and an Ashes series on home soil next year, the governing body can expect a big boost to revenue over the next 18 months.
Richardson’s struggles came to a head three years ago when COVID-19 derailed the Indian Premier League season he was involved in, leaving players stranded abroad due to Australia's strict biosecurity rules.
Cricket Australia (CA) plan to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first ever Test match, played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 1877, with an Australia vs England Test at the same venue in March 2027, the governing body said on Sunday.
“A breakout campaign from the young leg-spinner whose 14 wickets left him equal with Rashid,” Cricket Australia said on their website.
The 31-year-old played every IPL match, took 18 wickets and guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to the final, leaving the fast bowler feeling extremely assured with how his short-form game is placed.
The laid-back allrounder headlines an experienced and settled 15-man squad for the June tournament, looking to make amends for their failure to reach the knockout rounds on home soil at the last event in 2022.
Selectors opted for a second spinner in Ashton Agar and picked Cameron Green as a back-up all-rounder while remaining loyal to the core of players who helped Australia win an unprecedented sixth 50-over World Cup in India last November.
"We're optimistic with what Dave's got left, we’ve picked him in the squad and we feel he’ll play a really big part in the Ashes and the World Test Championship," McDonald told Australian radio station SEN
Paine led Australia between 2018 and 2021 after Steve Smith was stripped of the captaincy in the wake of the "Sandpaper-gate" ball-tampering incident against South Africa.
Australia opener Usman Khawaja missed the team's flight to India on Wednesday for their four-test tour due to a visa delay, Cricket Australia (CA) said.
Cricket Australia sealed a record Aus$1.5 billion (US$1.02 billion) extension of its domestic TV rights deal Tuesday, calling it an important commercial outcome for the sport.
Australian seamer Scott Boland was Sunday confirmed to start the Boxing Day second Test in Melbourne ahead of an "underdone" Josh Hazlewood, while South Africa suggested they could shake up their batting line up.
Captain Pat Cummins said on Tuesday there are "no cowards" in the Australia cricket team and that the players had not been distracted by former head coach Justin Langer's inflammatory comments.
A frustrated David Warner Monday said he was "not a criminal" and everyone should have the right to appeal as Cricket Australia paved the way for his lifetime leadership ban to be lifted.
Test skipper Pat Cummins will also captain Australia in one-day internationals after being named as the replacement for Aaron Finch by Cricket Australia on Tuesday.
Cricket Australia (CA) look set to revoke David Warner's lifetime ban from leadership positions after announcing that the body's integrity code would be reviewed at Friday's board meeting as a "first step" to his rehabilitation.
David Warner says he still considers leadership roles a privilege and is ready to talk to Cricket Australia about ending the ban imposed on him for his part in the Newlands ball-tampering incident.