Australia has sprung just one surprise in an otherwise settled squad as it bids to retain the women's T20 World Cup trophy on home soil next month.

Key points: Meg Lanning will captain the side, with Rachael Haynes as vice-captain

Meg Lanning will captain the side, with Rachael Haynes as vice-captain Australia will host the women's T20 World Cup for the first time, with matches starting on February 21

Australia will host the women's T20 World Cup for the first time, with matches starting on February 21 Australia is a four-time champion of the tournament

The majority of the squad that lifted the trophy two years ago in the Caribbean will be there again, with 13 of those victorious 15 players selected.

This squad will also form the basis of the team that will play in the tri-series against India and England on the eve of the World Cup.

Teen all-rounder Annabel Sutherland has been drafted into the side after impressing in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL).

The daughter of former Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland captured the selectors' attention with figures of 3/41 and scores of 43 and 67 in her recent WNCL games for Victoria.

However, her highest T20 score in last year's Women's Big Bash was just 38, with the teenager also taking a total five wickets in the 10 matches she played for the Melbourne Stars across the season.

Annabel Sutherland is a surprise inclusion to the World Cup squad. ( AAP: Michael Dodge )

Sutherland has certainly been on the rise over the last few years, accepting invitations to play in the Perry vs Lanning U18's exhibition match, the Governor-General's XI as well as the Australia A team.

But to get a call-up into such an experienced side aged just 18 — with so much pressure on the Australian team to make it to the final after tournament organisers announced their intention to fill the MCG and forge a new world record for a women's sports match — is an interesting decision.

Selectors have shown faith in Erin Burns after the 31-year-old opted to have knee surgery instead of playing in the WNCL last week.

Burns had a small bone in her left knee removed during arthroscopic surgery in an effort to present herself in the best possible shape for the World Cup.

The all-rounder only made her debut in both the T20 and ODI format against the West Indies in September last year but was impressive for the Australia A against a developing India women's side in December with high scores of 107 and 53*.

Making way for those two players are experienced batters Elyse Villani and Nicole Bolton.

After a 99-run, player of the match performance last week in the WNCL and having made 62 not out and 70 for the Australian A women in December in T20 matches, Villani might be entitled to feel a little hard done by, given her extensive experience of 62 T20I's since making her debut in 2009.

Bolton showed promising signs in her return to cricket during the WBBL after taking a couple of mental health breaks from the sport last year, but did not have a great campaign during the Women's Ashes and is probably better suited to the longer one-day format.

Her off-spinning duties will be picked up by Burns.

Either way, the rest of the Australian players will carry on as they have since November 2018, when they last won the T20 World Cup.

The side has only lost a single T20 match out of the 21 it played in 2019 and, as the number one ranked side in all formats of the game, heads into the tournament as clear favourites.