Marnus Labuschagne gears up for white-ball debut

Labuschagne's brilliant run of form saw him scoring 353 runs in four matches at 50.42 in the Ashes last year in England after he replaced Steve Smith as a concussion substitute in the second Test at Lord's. He continued that with two centuries against Pakistan at home and was the highest run-scorer in the New Zealand Test series, accumulating 549 runs in just three matches at 91.50, including his first double century.

The performances took him to No.3 on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings for batting and prompted the Australian selectors to name him in the squad for the three-match ODI series against India.

"It's nice to get an opportunity in this format, it's a format I really enjoy," Labuschagne told AAP before Australia's series opener in Mumbai. "My one-day game has just developed over time."

Labuschagne's journey at the top level began because of one-day cricket, when he was named player of the domestic 50-over competition in 2016-17 and was Queensland's leading run-scorer the following season. Those numbers got him selected in the Australia A one-day team for the tour of India in August 2018 and earned him a Test debut against Pakistan a month later.

"That was the opportunity I got over here. Everything flipped on its head. I played that series and went to the UAE straight away [and got picked for a Test debut]. And it all went from there," he explained.

Now with an ODI debut around the corner, the 25-year-old insisted that like his cricketing idols, his aim is to eventually showcase his talent in all three formats of the game.

"There’s not many people who are so dominant in all three formats,” he said. "For me I’ve had a nice start this summer in Test cricket, but looking at the likes of Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, those guys are dominating two or three of the formats. That’s my challenge."

Australia play the first of three ODIs on Tuesday, 14 January, in Mumbai.