Peter Handscomb pushes his case for inclusion in Australia’s one-day team in India
Peter Handscomb may be touring India as Australia’s back-up keeper but the Victorian captain believes he has more to offer the side as the countdown to the T20 World Cup begins.
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A calendar chock full of white-ball opportunities in 2020 is the perfect audition stage for a T20 World Cup berth and Peter Handscomb knows he gets first crack.
The Victorian captain flies to India on Thursday with the Australian one-day team which will play 15 matches through 2020, with 15 more T20s as well before the World Cup in October.
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Handscomb scored his maiden ODI century in India last year but was squeezed out of the 50-over World Cup squad at the last minute before making a late, one-off cameo after an injury to Shaun Marsh.
Conversations with coach Andrew McDonald, who will take over from Justin Langer for the India tour, in the days before the opening clash in Mumbai on January 14 will determine just what role Handscomb may play.
But he’s eyeing off a spot as a middle-order match controller, a role he also fills for the Melbourne Stars in the BBL, one he knows he could translate in to the national T20 team too.
“It (T20 World Cup) is not in my thought process but I will definitely put my hand up if the option is there,” Handscomb said.
“There has been talk about middle-order batters in the T20 side and that’s been my role for the Stars ever since I started playing.
“I still like red ball cricket, I still want to get myself back in the Test side at some stage. But if this year is more of a white ball focus, that’s what all the players will be pushing for.
“But the calibre of T20 players we have in Australia is insanely high, so I wouldn’t be too worried about whether I get selected.”
Handscomb has already played 22 ODIs for Australia, as well as two T20s, to go with his 16 Tests, showing a capacity to perform across all three forms of the game.
Selectors singled out Handsomb as a back-up keeper for the ODI tour as well and the inclusion of in-form Test star Marnus Labuschange could make the battle for batting spots interesting.
Handscomb said he was yet to talk to McDonald about what role he could play during the three-match series, but hope his ability to play spin, and his hundred on the subcontinent in March, worked in his favour.
“Conditions in India can be tough for anyone,” he said.
“But I pride myself on how I play spin so if I get the chance to play over there, to try and control the middle overs.
“We have four or five days before the first game and can really knuckle down with the roles we want to play.”
Originally published as Peter Handscomb pushes his case for inclusion in Australia’s one-day team in India
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