Mitch Marsh feared his hopes of playing in the World Twenty20 were over in January.
Marsh had just been overlooked for a home series against India, Australia's final piece of T20 action before selectors named their 15-man squad for the tournament in India.
The West Australian suspected Rod Marsh's panel decided to look elsewhere in their search for an arsenal of allrounders.
"Initially I did, yeah. It was obviously very disappointing," Marsh said in the lead-up to the side's World T20 opener on Friday against New Zealand in Dharamsala.
"They obviously just wanted to have a look at a few guys throughout that series so maybe it was a little bit of a blessing that I had a week off."
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Marsh managed to nail down his spot with a couple of impressive ODI knocks.
He is set to bat at No.6 in the World T20. The 24-year-old is in form - of sorts.
Marsh hit the winning runs in both Johannesburg and Cape Town during the recent T20 series in South Africa, having faced a single delivery in both drama-packed games.
"Correct - James Faulkner, eat your heart out," Marsh joked, when asked if he was the side's new finisher.
The squad's batting depth means Marsh's bowling is what will have a greater influence on Australia's bid to win the one major cricket tournament that's eluded them.
Marsh is one of a handful of allrounders charged with filling the immense void left by the absence of pacemen Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Pat Cummins.
"We're going to have probably seven or eight guys who can bowl overs so Smithy (skipper Steve Smith) has a lot of options," Marsh said.
"Whether or not I bowl one over or four overs, I'll just try and contribute to the team and go for the least amount of runs I can."
Marsh hoped his added pace would help in that regard.
"Over the last 18 months, my bowling has just improved and I set out a goal with (bowling coach) Craig McDermott that I wanted to get out another five or more kilometres," he said.
"It's been really pleasing to see that happen.
"But at the same time, Twenty20 cricket is all about variation as well so it won't just be coming in and trying to bowl as fast as I can every ball."
Marsh has lengthened his run-up while attempting to hit the 140km/h mark more consistently.
"It meant that I had to get a little bit fitter than I was maybe two years ago," Marsh said.
Australia will train in Dharamsala for the first time on Wednesday, when they will seek to acclimatise to the chilly conditions in the foothills of the Himalayas.
