Joel Paris was unsure if he would play any cricket this summer but the left-arm paceman is now eyeing a dream one-day debut for Australia on his home WACA Ground.
The West Australian quick has long been earmarked as an international prospect but injury continually set him back including being sidelined for most of last season with a quad muscle tear following an outstanding one-day domestic campaign.
The same leg injury delayed his start this season, but he found some terrific form with 14 wickets in two Sheffield Shield games followed by solid performances in the Big Bash League for the Perth Scorchers.
That earned him a spot in Australia's one-day squad for the series starting against India on Tuesday and he could think of nothing better than an international debut on his home deck.
"I'm more excited but there's a little bit of nerves," Paris said.
"If I get the opportunity to play, it's going to be a fantastic crowd and with WA being my home state obviously as well. I think those nerves are a good thing and I'll certainly be using that as a positive rather than a negative.
"It's been a tough couple of years and I haven't played a lot of cricket."
"I wasn't really sure if I would play any cricket this year but, fortunately enough, it has worked out pretty well so far."
India might not have the best record touring Australia ahead of this trip that includes five one-day and three Twenty20 internationals, but Paris knows they can't be taken lightly.
If picked, he knows he will have to get it right or the likes of Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan could get hold of him. Both made 74 in India's opening tour match on Friday against a WA XI.
"We've got four quicks in the squad... it's bouncy and quick over here so we'll try and use that to our advantage," Paris said.
"If we bowl well and in the channels that we want to bowl in, we'll give ourselves every opportunity of doing well. If we don't, they are world-class batters and will take advantage of that."
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