May surprise in spite of recent record

On paper, Australia look formidable with seven of their big stars -- skipper Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins and Kane Richardson -- returning to the side after having missed out in their two previous tours of the Caribbean and Bangladesh. However, with only one final appearance in six editions and their last semifinal appearance coming way back in 2012, it is fair to say that Australia have not been the force that they are in other formats of the game. The recent run of form also does not augur well for the Aussies. Lately, the Australians endured a lean patch in T20s as they suffered losses in each of their past five series, including their first-ever 4-1 thumping in a bilateral T20I series against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Except for Oman, Papua New Guinea and Scotland, all the other 13 teams participating in this year's T20 World Cup have played at least three T20Is this year. And Australia, who lost 11 of the 15 T20Is played this year, have a win/loss ratio of 0.363 -- the worst among those 13 teams. However, the Aussies can take heart from the fact that they have not been able to field a full-strength playing eleven in the last three series and hope that the return of the big names will be enough to see the scars of their recent results have little to no impact on their World Cup campaign.

STRENGTHS

Formed with the likes of pacers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood alongside the spin threat consisting of leggies Adam Zampa and Mitchell Swepson and left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, Australia's bowling attack is sure to interject fear into opposition's minds. When it comes to having an adept bowling combination, Australia probably have the best group of bowlers who are not only rich in abilities but also complement each other perfectly. The form and all-round abilities of Mitchell Marsh and Glen Maxwell will only strengthen Australia's chances.

WEAKNESSES

Winning is a good habit. But with how things have gone for Australia in the past few months, they are far from the winning trajectory. One facet that could see Australia lose their edge at a vital point in the tournament is their inability to finish off games despite getting good starts. Moreover, the lack of form for some of their stalwarts such as David Warner and lack of game-time for some others including Steven Smith could limit Australia's chances a great deal.

THE MAX-POWER

In the two innings that Glenn Maxwell opened for Australia in T20Is, he scored 211 runs at a staggering 224.46 strike rate. In fact, he scored his career-best of unbeaten 145 off 65 while opening for the Aussies.

SURPRISE INCLUSIONS AND EXCLUSIONS

The sole surprise in Australia's 15-member squad is the inclusion of the uncapped Josh the England-born wicketkeeper-batsman who plays for Western Australia in domestic cricket and Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League, has been in impeccable form in the domestic circuit in the past 12 months. That is what has seen Inglis successfully leapfrog out-of-form Alex Carey and Josh Philippe for the role of a back-up wicketkeeper.

SQUAD

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

RESERVES

Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams