Bird hopes to book India ticket via BBL

Australian seamer Jackson Bird will have one eye on winning a ticket to India when he returns for the Sydney Sixers in the KFC Big Bash League on Monday night.

Bird and Test spinner Nathan Lyon have been named in the Sixers' squad to take on the Renegades at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Another Test slow bowler, Stephen O'Keefe, had been named in the Sixers squad but has been withdrawn by Cricket Australia to focus on the looming Test tour to India.

And while Lyon and O'Keefe are all but assured of spots in the Test squad for India given Australia's desire to play multiple spinners, Bird is not so sure of what his plans for February and March will be.

"You can't really look too far ahead with selections," Bird said.

"India's going to be a tough tour and there are obviously going to be a lot of spinners bowling for us.

"I suppose there will be a third-seamer role on the tour but I'm not really sure yet. Hopefully I do get the nod but we'll see how we go."

With multiple spinners set to be in the XI, Bird remains uncertain about what role he would play in the Australia XI.

"I feel like I could do well over there. If I do get selected, I could challenge the off stump, and I feel like I can bowl pretty good reverse swing, which I showed during the New Zealand series (last summer)," Bird told News Ltd.

"Most bowlers who can bowl reverse swing these days, it’s a deadly weapon.

"And I feel like reverse swing for the bowlers in India will be crucial, so if selected I could bring that to the table.

"It was nice to get an extended run in Test cricket, I really enjoyed it, and the most pleasing thing for me is still having a lot of improvement in Test cricket. I feel like I contributed pretty well when I hadn’t bowled at my 100 per cent best, and that’s pretty exciting given there is room to improve, and hopefully I get that opportunity in the next 12 months."

Bird was a mainstay of the Australian attack alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood this summer, taking 13 wickets in three Tests before he made way for Lyon and O'Keefe on the dryer Sydney track.

Along with the likelihood of duelling with extra spinners while on the tour, fellow-quicks Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are both returning to full fitness and could challenge for spots when the touring party is named.

And given there are no more Sheffield Shield matches between now and that point, Bird is eying the unconventional path of the Big Bash League to plead his case.

"Every time you play cricket it's a chance to impress the selectors," he said.

"Hopefully I can contribute to winning games for the Sixers."

Monday night's clash is a key one for both Bird's Sixers and the Renegades.

Both teams have two wins, with the Sixers having played five of their eight games, one more than the Renegades.

While the Sixers have been boosted by the return of the three Test players, the Renegades have named Sri Lankan quick Thisara Perera for his BBL debut, after he was called in as a replacement for the injured Dwayne Bravo.

They have also put the broom through the squad after Saturday night's 46-run thumping at the hands of the Melbourne Stars, dropping batsman Marcus Harris and quick Trent Lawford.

Nathan Rimmington has also been left out of the 13-man squad, with Tom Beaton and former Australian spinner Xavier Doherty called up.