Emboldened by Australia's remarkable turnaround in the ODI series against India, vice-captain Alex Carey Tuesday said they are "really confident" of entering the ICC World Cup with a squad good enough to play like defending champions.
The five-match series is poised at 2-2, thanks to Australia's back-to-back wins after staring down the barrel at one stage.
"As a player in the Australian cricket side we have been working hard in the last 12-18 months. Some success has started to come our way. We are really confident moving with the squad we take to the World Cup," Clarey said on the eve of the series-deciding game here.
Carey said it will only add to the strength of the side when Steve Smith and David Warner rejoin the side after serving out their bans.
"Those are definitely some big names that might come back into the line. The guys that are in the side are performing well, so it's only healthy for Australian cricket that the guys in the side are playing well and these guys that have done really well in the past have definitely put their hand up for selection when they are available."
"We played some local Indian bowlers that we tried in the nets, so I guess it's really a good experience. Guys getting out there in the middle to have the confidence to take on their spinners got to be a great confidence tomorrow."
"We take a lot of confidence that we trust the batters to perform their role. When Ashton did that the other night he did really well. They (Indians) are world class bowlers and I am sure they want to bounce back and it's up to our batters to have a game plan to negate that. We trust the players to perform their role and take on the best bowlers in the world and do a good job."