Australia head coach Andrew McDonald believes the upcoming T20I series against India will serve as a litmus test for the team’s revamped batting approach, which has brought them success in recent months.
Under captain Mitchell Marsh, Australia have adopted a more aggressive batting philosophy following back-to-back group-stage exits in the last two T20 World Cups. The shift has paid off, with Australia winning series against West Indies, South Africa, and New Zealand — losing just once in their last 11 T20Is.
India enter the five-match series as reigning T20 World Cup champions, with a squad featuring top-ranked T20I batter Abhishek Sharma, bowler Varun Chakaravarthy, and premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
“There has been a shift. We’re 11 games in now from the initial conversation. When we set out on this journey, we’d failed in a couple of World Cups previously, so we wanted to shift and stretch the boundaries on what we thought we could do,” McDonald said.
“So yeah, we have been more aggressive, we’ve played people in different positions. Tim David has batted a little bit higher than before. Our admission was that we hadn’t been successful in a couple of campaigns. We’ve got to change things up; we’ve got to stretch ourselves.
“Is it the style that can win a World Cup? We believe so. Will we have to pivot and nuance it slightly depending on whether we’re in Colombo, Delhi, or Kolkata? There’s no doubt about that.
“You’re playing against India, so it’s a really good test of whether this style will hold up. They’re the number-one ranked team in the world, and I think we’re number two. We’re excited to test ourselves against the best.
“Those younger players who’ve got an opportunity — what better chance than to play against the best team in the world and stand up in that environment,” McDonald told reporters in Canberra on Monday, ahead of the series opener on Wednesday evening.
Australia are still assessing options to fill the void left by Mitchell Starc, who retired from T20Is earlier this year. With Nathan Ellis locked in as the designated death-overs specialist, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Matt Kuhnemann, and Xavier Bartlett are competing for supporting roles in the pace attack for the series.
“We’re gathering information around what that next crop will be. We’ve been so stable with Starc, Cummins, and Hazlewood in white-ball formats. To see Ellis shape up as a frontline bowler, to see how we use him, to see Xavier Bartlett and Sean Abbott get more runway to press their claims — and then Mahli Beardman joining us in the middle of this series — is exciting. We’re excited by that next crop,” added McDonald.
IANS