Recovering stars Finch, Smith on track for World Cup

Australia's injured top-order lynchpins Aaron Finch and Steve Smith are both on track to recover in time for the T20 World Cup, with Smith expected to make his return via the Indian Premier League next month.

Smith had been under a cloud after pulling out of recent tours to the Caribbean and Bangladesh due to a left elbow injury that flared up last summer and continued to bother him during the initial stage of the IPL earlier this year.

The star batter told cricket.com.au last month he would prioritise the upcoming Ashes over the World Cup if he was forced into choosing.

But with his recovery progressing to the point where the famously fastidious trainer is now batting in the nets for an hour at a time at New South Wales training, Smith is set to be available for the resumption of the IPL in the UAE next month.

Limited-overs captain Finch, who himself is currently recovering from knee surgery, is optimistic Smith will then be right for the start of the World Cup.

"It seems to be going really well. I know that he's been building up his batting time over the last couple of weeks – I know that would have been difficult to have a time limit on his net times," Finch told cricket.com.au on Wednesday.

"From all reports he's been really strict with that, making sure he doesn't overdo his elbow so it hinders his rehab.

"He's going really well. The last time I spoke to him he wasn't having any pain batting so that was a real positive. He's going to be such an important part of our campaign."

The postponement of a mooted tri-series involving Afghanistan and the West Indies has meant the IPL shapes as priceless World Cup preparation for the Australians who hold contracts for what is regarded as the best T20 league in the world.

Smith's dynamism and versatility with the bat will be welcome traits for an undermanned Australian side that has now lost its five most recent bilateral T20 series, and had major struggles with the bat in the past two.

The 32-year-old has batted at three in all but three of his 12 international T20 innings since the last World Cup in 2016 but is capable of slotting further down the order, which could be an option given Mitch Marsh's impressive showing at first drop against the Windies and Bangladesh.

Smith, who was picked up by Ricky Ponting's Delhi Capitals for a surprisingly low figure of $A390,000, came in at either three or four depending on the match situation during the six games he played for Delhi during the opening stage of the IPL in April-May.

Finch is also confident his own recovery from injury will allow to him to lead the Aussies at the World Cup, which gets underway in the United Arab Emirates in October, though he concedes he will be short on match practice.

The 34-year-old flew home from the Caribbean last month after a left knee niggle he first noticed following a pre-tour fielding session in Brisbane, and then flared up again during a gym session in St Lucia, progressively got worse during Australia's 4-1 T20 series defeat to the Windies.

The day after he completed his two weeks in hotel quarantine in Melbourne last week, Finch immediately went under the knife and is now aiming to resume batting by mid-September – not long after his wife Amy is due to give birth to the couple's first child.

"I'm confident of that (being fit for the World Cup)," said Finch.

"It will be come down to pretty minimal match practice which I think being older and being around for quite a while plays into my hands a bit, having (previously recovered from) some injuries where you don't have a lot of lead time into a series.

"I think that will help me. The surgery went as well as it could have and I'm walking around with no pain, which is the most important thing at this stage."

Finch also said he had no problems seeing the ball during the West Indies series after undergoing a procedure in March to fix an astigmatism in his left eye.

Australia are expected to name their World Cup squad later this week.

Australia's 2021 T20 World Cup schedule

October 23 v South Africa in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

October 28 v Qualifier A1 in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 29 AEDT)

October 30 v England in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 31 AEDT)

November 4 v Qualifier B2 in Dubai (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

November 6 v West Indies in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

2021 T20 World Cup groups

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, B2

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1, A2