5 Australian players to watch out for in the T20I series

After losing the ODI series against India, Australia will be looking for a turnaround and change in fortunes with a change in format. Australia, though, haven’t had a great run in T20Is. Out of the 15 games since the start of 2016, Australia have just won 7 of them and just one this year (out of three).

Most of the players in the T20 squad have played in the Indian Premier League, so getting accustomed to conditions shouldn’t be much of a problem. In fact, 14 of the 15 members have taken part in the IPL at some point or the other.

This series presents a new opportunity to not just the team, but also the individuals who can make a big impact and help Australia end this Indian tour on a high. And there are a few players who can create an impact in this T20I series. Here are 5 Aussie players to watch out for.

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#5 Daniel Christian

Daniel Christian has spent plenty of time in and around the Australian limited-overs teams for quite some time now. Christian has the ability to hit the ball hard while also providing crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs with his medium pace bowling.

And his T20 form has been very good this year, which was perhaps what earned him a place in the T20 squad. In 37 games, he has a strike-rate of 145 and has taken 31 wickets. So, he can slot in as the all-rounder, who can bat anywhere and can chip in with 4 useful medium-pace overs. Also, he has been playing T20 cricket regularly.

First, he played the T20 blast in England for Nottinghamshire, where he scored 356 runs at an impressive strike-rate 153.44 in 14 innings. Then, he played for Trinbago Knight Riders as a replacement for Brendon McCullum. Moreover, he played 13 games for Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL this year and has the sufficient knowledge of Indian conditions.

#4 Jason Behrendorff

Behrendorff will be looking to impress in his first international outing.

A left-arm pacer who can swing the ball at good pace, Jason Behrendorff will represent Australia for the first time in his career (if selected in the playing XI). Due to a leg injury, Behrendorff had to miss 2016/17 season of the BBL, but he has been in very good form since his comeback.

In the two JLT One-Day tournament’s games, his returns were 3/34 and 1/43. Earlier this year in February-March, he played three first-class games where he took 23 wickets in those games, which include 9//37 in one of the innings.

His overall T20 record is also very good. In 38 T20s that he has played in his career, he has taken 53 wickets at an impressive average of 19.47 and a superb strike-rate of 16.0. Behrendorff will be eager to show his prowess in the T20I series and is one of the players to watch out for in this series.

#3 Moises Henriques

Henriques will be looking to fix his spot in the Australian limited-overs sides.

Of the many players who are competing for the all-rounders’ slot in the Australian limited-overs side, one of them is the Portuguese-born New South Wales player, Moises Henriques. He was dropped after Australia’s disappointing Champions Trophy campaign. But he has been called up again in the T20 squad on the back of some good T20 form.

Henriques has been playing some quality T20 cricket and is in decent form. He was involved in the T20 Blast in England where he represented Surrey for 7 games and in one JLT game in Australia, he scored 72 before boarding the flight to India.

In all T20s he’s played in 2017, he averages 36.68 at a decent strike-rate of almost 130. He has also been a regular member in the IPL, playing for various teams and thus could be one of the key players to Australia’s success.

#2 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye is one of those rare bowlers who have the ability to bowl yorkers coupled with a plenty of variations to fox the batsmen. The Western Australia fast bowler can be considered as a T20 specialist as he has played more T20s than List A and first-class games combined.

Tye is coming off a long injury lay-off and has played only two competitive games in the last 5 months - and that was back in the JLT Cup in Australia just before landing in India. And there were no signs of rustiness as he straight-away got into the groove, picking up 5 wickets in two games.

Tye also played 6 games in this years’ IPL before getting injured and was very impressive with his variations and death bowling skills, picking up 12 wickets which included a fifer and a hat-trick (both on debut). In the absence of the front-line quickies, Australia would depend on Tye to put the brakes on the scoring while also taking wickets at the death.

#1 Glenn Maxwell

In his last T20I series, Maxwell scored a scintillating 145 off 65 balls.

Whenever Glenn Maxwell takes the field, there’s always a sense of excitement. The simple reason is that he is the kind of player who can turn the game on its head in the span of few deliveries. He has created an impression as one of the fastest scorers in world cricket.

After a sedate one-day series, where he scored only 58 runs in three games before being dropped, Maxwell, who is one of the key members of the T20 squad, will be looking forward to the T20 series to prove his worth.

He is one of the most experienced T20 players in the squad and is also in decent T20 form. In the IPL this year, he scored 310 runs at a brilliant strike-rate of 173.18. In his last two T20 internationals, he has scores of 145 and 66, both with strike-rates of over 200.

So, with all his experience and hitting ability, Maxwell is the one to watch out for in the series as he is an impact player that desecrates bowling units at his best.