Team travelling to India is not the World Cup squad: Justin Langer

Melbourne: Australia men's cricket team head coach Justin Langer on Thursday said the team that will travel to India for the upcoming limited-overs series is not the one that will represent the country at the World Cup 2019.

Australia named their squad with significant changes that will take on India for two T20Is and five ODIs, beginning February 24 in preparation for the World Cup.

However, Langer said there is still a chance for aspirants to stake their claim for a spot at the prestigious world tournament. He pointed out that there is a five-match series against Pakistan before the team announcement for the World Cup.

"Whether you are on this tour or not, there is still going to be spots up for grabs. But the World Cup is going to come up sooner than you know and guys like Steve Smith and Dave Warner are obviously going to bang very hard on the door,” Cricket Australia quoted Langer, as saying.

"So there is going to be some competition there, but that is good as there is going to be some guys that need to stay on their toes the entire time and keep playing great cricket every time we play,” Langer said.

The five-time champions Australia are ranked at number six on the ICC ODI team rankings. However, Langer is not too concerned if Australia are not among the favourites.

"We know there are a lot of good players and there are only 15 spots for the World Cup. If you pick the best team for each game, the future usually looks after itself," he said.

The much-awaited World Cup is scheduled to be hosted in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14. Australia will begin their campaign against Afghanistan on Jun 1 in Bristol.