Expect exciting series against aggressive India : Australia coach Darren Lehmann

Perth, 8 January - Australia coach Darren Lehmann has said the forthcoming limited-overs series against India will be an exciting one, considering the aggressive nature of cricket the visitors are playing lately.

The visitors will be playing five One-Day Internationals (ODI) starting on January 12 in Perth followed by three Twenty20 Internationals.

Youngsters Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Varinder Sran and Manish Pandey have been included in the ODI squad while Hardik Pandya has been named in the T20 squad.

"They are a good one-day side as they made the semis of the World Cup. They are a quality side so from our point of view we have got to start well and play well against them. We haven't played in Perth for a while, so that is exciting for us and I feel it's a fast bouncy track," Lehmann told reporters here on Thursday.

"They are playing an aggressive brand of cricket as well, so I don't really see that changing in the next five games," he said.

The 45-year-old said Steve Smith and David Warner are waiting to take on the 2011 World Cup champions.

"Yes, Warner and Smith will certainly play. Of course Daves is going to and fro with the baby but that will be later and he is keen to play. Yes, if something happens earlier, we have an extra batter to take his place," he said.

Australia will miss recently retired Mitchell Johnson and the injured Mitchell Starc in their bowling line-up. 

The selectors have named Glenn Maxwell as the only spinner in their squad, pointing out that the pitches in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney would assist the quick bowlers.

Uncappped fast bowlers Scott Boland and Joel Paris are in line for their international debuts after being named in the squad, besides Josh Hazlewood and James Faulkner.

"It will be a good challenge for them. We play top cricket and India play the same way, so it will be an exciting series. The blokes change pretty quickly and we have changed our squad around a fair bit and it is nice to see the guys play a bit of T20 and white ball cricket, nice bit of transition for us," he said.

Agency