Adaptability key in India, says Khawaja

MELBOURNE/HYDERABAD: Australia top-order batsman Usman Khawaja believes adaptability is going to be key against India in their upcoming two-match T20I series, beginning Sunday in Visakhapatnam. He further asserted that many Australian players have got the experience of playing on Indian tracks which will prove beneficial for them.

“I found there was probably one wicket that spun a fair bit in Dharamsala, the other ones (in Mohali (twice) and Bangalore) were pretty good batting surfaces. You just have to adapt to whatever you get here,” Khawaj was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

Khawaja is one of the frontrunners to open with captain Aaron Finch in the T20 series but there a few other options available as well, namely D’arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Glen Maxwell and Alex Carey. “It’s good to have options. A lot of guys that are in this team are quite flexible on where they can play so whatever happens, moving forward I think everyone will do quite well in whatever role they have,” said Khawaja.

The 32-year-old batsman also gave his backing to coach Justin Langer ahead of the serie.

“JL’S message is simple and clear most times: just try to get better every single time,” Khawaja said. “Whether it’s training or playing games, we’re always trying to improve. I think everyone’s going about their individual plans trying to get better and that’s the main focus. If you do that consistently hopefully you start getting results further down the track.”