Andrew McDonald eager to test aggressive style against India

Australia’s head coach, Andrew McDonald, is eager to test the aggressive style of batting against India in the upcoming five-match T20I series. Australia was knocked out of the last two T20 World Cups in the group stage and has adopted an aggressive batting template.

In the last 11 T20Is, the Aussies have won 10 games, losing a solitary contest. Mitchell Marsh’s team has won series against West Indies, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, India is currently the number one T20I team in the world and the upcoming series is expected to be a thrilling one.

“There has been a shift. We’re 11 games in now from the initial conversation. When we set out on this journey, we’d failed in a couple of World Cups previously, so we wanted to shift and stretch the boundaries on what we thought we could do.”

“So yeah, we have been more aggressive, we’ve played people in different positions. Tim David has batted a little bit higher than previously. Our admission was that we haven’t been successful in a couple of campaigns. We’ve got to change things up. We’ve got to stretch ourselves.”

“Is it the style that can win a World Cup? We believe so. Will we have to pivot and nuance it slightly, depending on whether we’re in Colombo or Delhi or Kolkata? There’s no doubt about that.”

“You’re playing against India, so it’s a really good test on whether this style will hold up. They’re the number-one ranked team in the world, I think we’re number two. We’re excited to test ourselves against the best.”

“Those younger players that have got some opportunity, what better opportunity than to play against the best team in the world and stand up in that environment,” McDonald was quoted as saying to reporters in Canberra on Monday, ahead of the opener on Wednesday evening.

Australia has power-hitters like Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, and Tim David, and they would aim to deliver collectively.

The first T20I between India and Australia will be played at Canberra on Wednesday.