Injury-hit Australia could see some new faces play in the WC semifinals against arch-rivals ENG but coach Justin Langer is optimistic of the reinforcements filling in the void
The Aussie coach compared England's explosive batsman to MS Dhoni, adding that he is an 'unbelievable cricketer'.
Australia's coach Justin Langer has asked fans to show respect to David Warner and Steve Smith.
Langer is still sweating over Warner's fitness but insisted that he will take no chances if the dashing opener is not 100 per cent fit.
Australia coach Justin Langer said the bowlers need to take the responsibility of stopping teams from posting huge totals.
Comparing Smith to master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was a huge compliment that also sent out a warning to rivals teams ahead of the World Cup beginning on May 30.
Langer admitted that controlling the crowd is not their hands but urged the fans to treat Warner and Smith as human beings, prone to committing mistakes.
Langer said one of Smith's goals when he started serving his one-year ban following the 2018 Newlands ball-tampering scandal was to return to the squad in better physical shape.
Langer admitted that announcement of the squad will leave some players 'brutally unlucky' but the recent performances have helped them instead of hindering the selection process.
While Smith is set to play for Rajasthan Royals, Warner will ply his trade for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The Australian batsman took to Instagram to post a video of him having a crack in the nets after being out due to an elbow injury which he endured in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Finch's rough patch has extended to the T20s as he was out for zero and eight in the two T20Is which Australia won to claim their maiden series win in the shortest format in India.
Ponting's appointment comes a day after David Saker resigned as Australia's fast-bowling coach with immediate effect.
While Smith and Warner are recovering from elbow injuries, the likes of Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, Billy Stanlake too have missed the cut for the India series.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was adjudged the man-of-the-series for scoring 193 runs in the three-match ODI series.
Justin Langer said it is a blessing in disguise for the young Australian cricketers to play against class players like Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
India won the four-match Test series 2-1 against Australia with Pujara fetching the man of the series award with a total of 521 runs, including three hundreds.
Saker said both he and head coach Justin Langer had a heated discussion with the team after the end of day's play.
The interviews have taken the sheen off the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia which ended with the host losing by 137 runs.
Langer blamed the first innings batting flop-show -- 151 all out -- for Australia's defeat in the third Test at the MCG.
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