Handscomb wants his bat to do the talking

Peter Handscomb's hopes of making Australia's World Cup squad as a wicketkeeper-batter were given a boost on Sunday night, but the right-hander knows taking the gloves can't compromise his work with the willow.

Handscomb was a surprise selection over vice-captain Alex Carey as wicketkeeper for the first T20 international in Vizag, where Australia clinched victory from the final delivery.

The Victorian was tidy with the gloves but had a difficult time with bat in hand, making 13 and running out set batsman D'Arcy Short as Australia relinquished the upper hand late in the run chase.

While he's made it clear he believes he can be Australia's wicketkeeper for the World Cup should an opportunity arise, Handscomb is determined to make sure his glovework doesn't affect his batting.

It's an important recognition by the 27-year-old, who has scored just 10 runs in the three ODIs where he has been the designated wicketkeeper.

"I just need to make sure I'm fit enough and strong enough that if we keep first in a 50-over game I can still go out there and bat at four or five and make sure I'm still running hard between the wickets and doing everything right by the team," Handscomb said on Monday.

Just where Handscomb sits in the keeping ranks will likely be discovered across Australia's next 10 one-day internationals, starting with the five-match series in India that follows the pair of T20Is.

It's expected that Carey will take the gloves to start the series against India having held the 50-over duties since the beginning of the summer against South Africa.

Carey took the reins after Test captain Tim Paine was dropped following the 5-0 whitewash in England last June and was Aaron Finch's opening partner in the three-match Gillette Series against India last month.

But Handscomb's stellar form in the JLT One-Day Cup for Victoria and scores of 73, 20 and 58 batting in the middle order in January's series makes him a solid option should Australia's selectors deem it necessary to take two wicketkeepers to the World Cup.

Handscomb says his work with assistant coach and World Cup-winning wicketkeeper Brad Haddin during limited-overs tours to India and New Zealand in 2017 helped take his glovework to a new level.

"Hadds is great," Handscomb said. "We actually did a bit of work together, a couple of years ago – maybe a year and a half ago.

"That put me on the right path with my keeping. We found a little routine that I can do at training or before a game that just gets me going, gets me ready to keep, whether I've been training a lot or I haven't been."

With still one more T20I left to play – in Bengaluru on Wednesday – Handscomb is looking forward to the challenge of taking the gloves in the 50-over format if given a chance.

"T20 is not too bad, it's sort of over and done with pretty quickly," he said.

"One-dayers can be a bit tougher. Especially in India with a bit of heat and up to the stumps a lot more on spinning wickets.

"So it can be tough but it's something I am looking forward to having a crack at."

Qantas tour of India

First T20: Australia won by three wickets

Second T20: February 27, Bengaluru

First ODI: March 2, Hyderabad

Second ODI: March 5, Nagpur

Third ODI: March 8, Ranchi

Fourth ODI: March 10, Mohali

Fifth ODI: March 13, Delhi