Nervous Lanning poised for comeback

Australia captain Meg Lanning admits she is feeling a touch of nerves on the eve of her return to the middle for her country.

Australia's ODI squad will play India A in a 50-over warm-up match at Mumbai's BKC Ground later today, in what will mark Lanning's return to competitive cricket after undergoing shoulder surgery last August.

The Southern Stars skipper enjoyed one final nets session on Monday morning, looking comfortable as she went through her paces and showed no signs of discomfort, playing her full range of shots.

But getting back into the middle is a different matter altogether, with this week's two warm-up games the perfect opportunity for Lanning to find her groove after a lengthy spell away from the game.

"It's nice (to be back), it felt a bit like going on my first tour again heading over here," Lanning said in Mumbai on Monday.

"I'm really excited to get back here around the group and I'm looking forward to getting the games underway."

When Lanning went under the knife, she was ranked the world's No.1 ODI batter. She averages 54.52 in the format and has already scored more one-day centuries than any other woman – making her return an incredibly exciting prospect for teammates and fans alike.

"I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm nervous before every game to be honest," Lanning said.

"There is a little bit of an unknown and no matter what, the first time I get to the middle is going to feel a little bit weird.

"But hopefully it comes back pretty quick. I'm looking forward to getting these two practice games under my belt."

While Lanning looks at ease with the bat, it's likely she'll take a more cautious approach in the field – with Chris Lynn's recent shoulder dislocation in New Zealand a timely reminder of the hazards of shoulder injuries – and she isn't expected to resume throwing overarm just yet.

Lanning returns to the Australian set-up with a new deputy in Rachael Haynes, the acting Ashes captain who has now been named full-time vice-captain following Alex Blackwell's retirement.

Australia head coach Matthew Mott expects Lanning to make a seamless return into the Southern Stars XI, praising her efforts in ensuring her time off the park was as brief as possible.

"She's done a lot of work in rehab and she's nervously excited as well," Mott said of Lanning on Sunday.

"She brings almost the youthfulness of a debut series into the group – she's quite nervous about getting back, but it won't take long for her to filter back into the side and her leadership in conjunction with (vice-captain) Rachael Haynes is a really strong unit."

The BCCI have named a 14-player India A team for Tuesday's clash, led by T20I representative Anuja Patil and featuring four players with international experience.

"Hopefully it's a strong side, we want to play against a good team and hopefully it will give us good match practice heading into the games against India," Lanning said.

"(This week is) about adapting to the conditions and getting used to it all, the heat, the different pitch conditions.

"Once we get into the practice matches, we'll be getting more specific about how we want to play the game."

Australia will play a second warm-up game on March 8 before flying to Vadodara, where the three-match ODI series against India begin on March 12.

Cricket.com.au will provide news, highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage from on the ground in India, while the ODIs and T20s will be broadcast on Fox Sports.

India A squad: Anuja Patil (c), Priya Punia, Sarika Kohli, Dayalan Hemalatha, Neha Tanwar, Tanushree Sarkar, Nishu Choudhary, Kavita Patil, Meghna Singh, Shanti Kumari, Nuzhat Parween, T P Kanwar, Preeti Bose, S Asha.

Australia tour of India

Australia ODI squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Australia T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Naomi Stalenberg, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

India ODI squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey, Sukanya Parida, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma

Warm-up match v India A, BKC Ground, Mumbai, March 8

Warm-up match v India A, BKC Ground, Mumbai, March 6

ODI series

First ODI Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, March 12

Second ODI Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, March 15

Third ODI Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, March 18

T20I tri-series

First T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 22

Second T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 23

Third T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 25

Fourth T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, March 26

Fifth T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 28

Sixth T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 29

Final Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 31