Assistant coach Haddin praises Khawaja as Australia try to settle on their best XI
Australia concede they’re still uncertain of their best side for the remainder of the World Cup, despite losing just one of the opening five matches of their title defence.
But assistant coach Brad Haddin believes their flexibility could be a trump card for the crunch matches to come.
With a loss to India marking their only blip so far, the Aussies find themselves in the unusual spot of sitting on top of the World Cup standings yet openly admitting there are question marks hanging over several crucial positions.
An injury to key man Marcus Stoinis shapes as their biggest headache, with the allrounder set to test out his troublesome left side in Nottingham this week ahead of Thursday's clash with Bangladesh.
"At the moment, we're still trying to find that best XI," Haddin said.
"We're still trying to find what works best for us. Come later in the tournament, we'll start to understand what the conditions are like a lot better and what … our best XI (is).
"At the moment, we're not settled on our best XI."
Haddin, the wicketkeeper in Australia's 2015 World Cup-winning side that used all 15 of its available squad members throughout the tournament, suggested the uncertainty isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"We're not too concerned about it all," he said. "One of the things we spoke to the squad about is we need to be a flexible squad to win a World Cup.
"The players understand that and we're training them accordingly. We make sure each and every player is ready for game day.
"I don't think it's a concern, you'd like to start getting your team (right) at the back-end of the tournament. I think one of the luxuries at the moment is we're still winning, and we still haven't found the perfect rhythm for our game, which is a dangerous sign."
Usman Khawaja, having thrived as an opener in the lead-in to the World Cup, has been forced to adapt to unfamiliar late-innings scenarios in a handful of Australia's matches so far.
He performed admirably after coming in at No 4 halfway through Australia's run chase against India, scoring 42 at better than a run-a-ball, but has contributed scores of 15, 14 and 10 when he’s been in the No 3 spot he’s more accustomed to.
“He’s playing a different role. It’s not that he’s not having success, he's been in a role where he's had limited opportunities," Haddin said.
"Before he could go out and set the pace of the innings and now the innings is dictating the role he needs to play. He's been okay with it — he's a class act.
"He's had little cameos throughout … We're pretty happy with where he's at. He's just got to bat (according to) the situation."