Maxi magic set to appear again: Finch

Opener Aaron Finch has praised Glenn Maxwell's response to his recent ODI axing and says the allrounder is close to breaking his run drought ahead of the Magellan Ashes this summer.

The form of Maxwell is one of the major talking points heading into the Test summer with the incumbent Test No.6 short of runs in all forms of cricket.

The right-hander was dropped partway through the recent ODI series against India, a warning shot of sorts from selectors ahead of the Tests against England.

Finch, Maxwell's long-time friend and ally in state and domestic cricket, says the 28-year-old responded admirably to his axing.

"He's been brilliant around the group," Finch said after Australia's T20 loss in Ranchi.

"It's always tough when somebody gets dropped. I've been there and I know the feeling too well.

"Particularly when you're on tour, you tend to go insular but he was the exact opposite. He was up and about around the group, doing everything to help anybody perform well on the day.

"Around the group when he was 12th man, he was doing absolutely everything to help everyone else out where he could."

Maxwell's breakthrough Test century against India in March has been followed by a run of outs that has seen him go 27 innings in all formats without a half-century, more than half of them in Twenty20 cricket.

And his struggles against Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal over the past month continued at the JSCA Stadium on Saturday night; Maxwell pulled a long hop from Chahal straight to mid-wicket on 17, the fourth time in four innings on this tour that he's fallen to the leggie. All up, Chahal has bowled 17 deliveries to Maxwell, dismissing him four times and conceding just 14 runs.

With the likes of Hilton Cartwright and Marcus Stoinis building a strong case to take Maxwell's spot in the Test side, the Victorian will be desperate for a change in fortunes in the final two games on this tour before three crucial JLT Sheffield Shield matches leading into the first Test at the Gabba.

"They can be brutal conditions when things aren't going your way," Finch said.

"He's had a couple of unlucky dismissals, he batted well in the first game (in Chennai last month) that was a rain-shortened match.

"He's batting well in the nets, he's doing everything he can. Sometimes form just eludes you a bit.

"We've seen him be so dominant, so destructive of attacks in these conditions before.

"I don't think it's far away. I think just a few game-plan tinkers here and there would go a long way to taking the pressure off himself."

Australia's Qantas Tour of India

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Axar Patel.

T20 Fixtures

October 7: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi

October 10: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati

October 13: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad