Sydney, Jan 30 (IANS) Australia coach Mickey Arthur warned that India would come hard against the hosts in the two Twenty20 internationals and the forthcoming tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka, starting this week.
Arthur said India will not carry their poor form in Tests in the shorter forms of the game. India were thrashed 0-4 in the Test series.
‘There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to see a totally different India arrive for the Twenty20s and the one-dayers. 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,’ Arthur said at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here Monday.
Arthur also said that some new faces will bring the much needed freshness in the Twenty20 side. Captain George Bailey will be making is debut in international cricket while Travis Birt, James Faulkner and 40-year-old spinner Brad Hogg bring new energy in the team.
‘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 said the players will have the chance to impress selectors 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.’
