New Delhi // Australia captain Steve Smith said yesterday that his team's vast experience of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) would give them a definite edge in the World Twenty20.
Five-time World Cup champions Australia have been under-performers in the shortest format.
Their best showing in the tournament has been the runners-up finish in 2010 when they lost the final to England.
“Traditionally, we haven’t done as well as we would have liked in this format of the game,” Smith told reports at Kolkata at Australia’s opening news conference of the 16-team tournament.
“This is a tournament that has eluded us, so we are here to try and win it.
Read more: Osman Samiuddin and Paul Radley break down all of the Super 10 teams
Also see: 2016 World Twenty20 – Your guide to the T20 cricket extravaganza
“We feel pretty settled. We have 15 guys who can give this tournament a pretty good shake.”
Smith, who leads the team in all the three formats, said they will be banking on their allrounders who have recently performed well.
He said inclusion of debutant leg-spinner Adam Zampa in the squad will boost the team’s bowling department on slow Indian tracks.
The 26-year-old captain said his team will adapt to the conditions quickly and will fully utilise their previous Indian experiences in the IPL to win the cup.
“We know what to expect from the conditions over here,” the Australia captain said.
"A lot of us have played here before, either in IPL or against India so we know what to expect and we're ready for the challenge."
Smith and five of his teammates in the World Twenty20 squad are part of various IPL franchises, and their familiarity with Indian pitches will auger well for them.
Coming into the sixth edition of the tournament at the back of a 2-1 Twenty20 series win against South Africa, the fifth-ranked side will play New Zealand in their opener on Friday.
Australia will play favourites India on March 27 and Smith insisted that there is no added pressure on the side that recently lost the Twenty20 series 3-0 against the MS Dhoni-led side.
“I don’t think there is any pressure,” he said.
“I think playing a world cup ... playing in international cricket, there is always lots of pressure.
“So, for us, it’s taking each game at a time.”
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport