Australia coach Mickey Arthur expects his team will face a different India in the first Twenty20 international in Sydney on Wednesday.
The Indians were crushed in the final Test in Adelaide last week to complete a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Australia but Arthur doesn’t think the tourists’ poor form will carry into the shortest form of the game.
While many of those who struggled through the Test series, including captain MS Dhoni, opening batsman Virender Sehwag and paceman Zaheer Khan, are part of India’s limited-overs squad – the arrival of several new players will give the camp a boost according to Arthur.
“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to see a totally different India arrive for the Twenty20s and the one-dayers,” he said.
“They’re definitely hurting. They’ve got players in that bring a huge amount of enthusiasm, thinking of the likes of (Suresh) Raina, Rohit Sharma – (Virat) Kohli’s a quality player – those types of players.
“They bring a huge amount to the squad. I’m banking on us seeing a totally different India and an India that’s hurting and going to come back very strong at us.”
But while India will feature several players untainted by the past few weeks of struggle, Arthur feels there will plenty of freshness in his own squad for the two T20s.
Captain George Bailey is yet to play a game for Australia in any form while new arrivals such as Travis Birt, James Faulkner and evergreen 40-year-old spinner Brad Hogg bring new energy to both the playing squad and those off the pitch.
“It was really nice meeting a whole new group of players and it almost refreshed us as a support staff because you’ve been on the road so long with the Test team … to see some new players was really exciting,” Arthur said.
Arthur put Australia’s T20 squad through a rigorous training session in hot and humid conditions at the SCG on Monday and said the players had the chance to impress ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
“We just want to put a marker in the sand … there’s a group of players there that have got first bite at a potential World Cup in six months’ time,” he said.
“We want to see what they’re all about.”
Both teams will train in Sydney on Tuesday although concerns over slightly underprepared practice wickets at ANZ Stadium could mean training is held at the SCG instead of the Sydney Olympic Park venue.
© AAP 2012Recommend this story.
The Turkey 10
The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.
Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!
Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.
Find out more.
THE ROAR ON