India vs Australia T20s: Steve Smith and co hope for turnaround vs Virat Kohli's men
Ranchi: Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques is hopeful that his side would keep the ODI series debacle behind and will start afresh when they take on India in the three-match T20I series beginning Sunday.
Australia were comprehensively beaten 1-4 in the recently concluded five-match ODI series and would be looking for a much better performance when they face the Men in Blue in the shortest version of the game.
"Guys would be embracing the new format and new series and try to put in fresh face to it and get up for this first game here in Ranchi," Henriques told reporters in Ranchi on Wednesday.
"Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of change in your mental state, change in attitude and in this case, the change in format. And hopefully, we can start afresh," he added.
Ten members of Australia's 14-man squad for the T20I series played in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL), including, captain Smith (Rising Pune Supergiant) and David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad).
Meanwhile, former Australian pacer Michael Kasprowicz has backed Steve Smith's men to topple India in the T20I series, saying their experience in the IPL will play a key role.
"It always difficult when you are playing cricket in another country, and especially here in India in the most challenging conditions, for Australian players to have faced. So, I think for the young players over here, they will learn, they'll have some experience," Kasprowicz told ANI.
"What excites me most about the Australians and the T20 format is that they are experienced here, having played the IPL. So, we are really looking forward to that experience come to the fore and showing what Australia can really do," he added.
Australia T20 squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.
India T20 squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Axar Patel.
T20 Fixtures:
October 7: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi
October 10: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati
October 13: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad