Former Australian pacer Michael Kasprowicz has backed Steve Smith's men to topple India in the three-match T20I series beginning Sunday, saying their experience in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will play a key role.
Ten members of Australia's 14-man T20I squad played in this year's IPL, including captain Smith (Rising Pune Supergiant) and David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad).
Australia were comprehensively beaten 1-4 in the recently concluded five-match ODI series and would be looking to come up with better performances when they face the Men in Blue in the shortest version of the game.
"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.
The 45-year-old also heaped praise on the Indian spinners for their exceptional performance in the five-match ODI series and cautioned Steve Smith and Co. to be wary of them.
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
