Finch ready for possible call-up

Australia look set to recall Aaron Finch for their crucial World T20 clash against Pakistan tonight in Mohali.

While the official teams for Australia and Pakistan will not be announced until the toss, allrounder Mitchell Marsh appears the most likely to make way should Finch be recalled.

Batting in the Mohali nets on Thursday, Finch savaged anything overpitched, hitting hard and handsomely straight, which happens to the be shortest boundary at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium.

Quick Single: Finch dealing with WT20 snub: Maxwell

If given the nod, Finch would likely open alongside Usman Khawaja, while veteran allrounder Shane Watson, who has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the tournament, will drop down the list to bolster an under-performing middle order.

Marsh’s right-arm pace could be seen as surplus to requirements in an attack featuring Watson, John Hastings and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Smith said on Wednesday that Watson may be shifted down the order if Finch was to return to the starting XI.

"I've seen him (Watson) bat in one-day cricket at No.5 and No.6, he's batted in the middle order in IPL over here as well, and he's done quite well," Smith said.

"He certainly can (bat down the order).

Quick Single: Zampa more than just spin: Smith

"Usman, I think, is suited to the top of the order. He plays just good cricket shots and scores at a pretty good rate without taking many risks.

"It depends what we want on that given day. If we want a bit of extra power and get off to an absolute flyer you've got options of Finch and Warner and Watson."

While Australia would lose Marsh's services as a genuine wicket-taking option if he made way for Finch, the sixth and seventh bowlers in their two preview matches have combined for only four overs between them.

In the opening loss to New Zealand in Dharamshala, spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar bowled one over each, with varying results, on a pitch that chopped up the ball and generated reverse swing for the fast bowlers.

In the three-wicket win over Bangladesh on Monday in Bangalore, allrounders Marsh and Glenn Maxwell went for 12 runs each in their only overs for the match.

And if a seventh option is needed, Smith or Finch have rolled the arm over in T20 international cricket in the past, but the Australia skipper doesn't expect the pitch to turn.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) it (the pitch) looked pretty good," Smith said on Thursday. "It looked like it had a bit of grass on it so it could go through quite nicely, and probably be as close to Australian conditions as we'll get, so we're a little bit excited by that."

The familiar pitch is another reason why Finch could excel on Friday if chosen.

While Finch averaged 29.19 in his last three seasons in the Indian Premier League (2015 was cut short by injury after only three matches), his record in Australia for the Melbourne Renegades is sublime, averaging 43.11 with a strike rate of 134.

Quick Single: No spot-fix chatter from us: Warner

The Victorian is also the No.1 T20 batsman in the world, whose last five scores in the format read 33, 2, 40, 74 and 44.

Finch injured his hamstring in January against India at the MCG, and was later stripped of the captaincy when Australia's selectors named the 15-man World T20 squad on February 9.

Recovering in time to be fit for the three-match T20 tour of South Africa, Finch starred on his return to the starting XI, blasting 40 off only 18 balls at Kingsmead earlier this month.

Quick Single: Smith wants runs, hints at change

His middle stump was destroyed by a searing Kagiso Rabada yorker in the following match, and after missing out the third fixture of the series, the 29-year-old resumed his place as opener in Australia's sole World T20 warm-up match against the West Indies in Kolkata, making 33 from 24.

Those efforts weren't enough to secure a starting berth for the opening match of the tournament against the Black Caps on March 18, but now Finch could have a chance to re-establish himself as Australia's premier top order batsman in the shortest format of the game.

Possible Australia XI: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Peter Nevill, Nathan Coulter-Nile, John Hastings, Adam Zampa