New Zealand vs Australia: Young Josh Philippe in line to make his international debut

"I see a lot of similarities between the way Josh plays when I was younger." - When a player of AB de Villiers's stature sees his younger self in someone, then, he surely has something special in him. Josh Philippe's flashy drives, the hooks, and the scoops undoubtedly remind us of AB de Villiers in his formative days. Fresh from leading the Sydney Sixers to a second consecutive title, the youngster has now set his eyes on an Australian debut.  

Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch, on Monday, spoke highly of the Western Australia-born keeper-batsman. Impressed by his showings in the recently-concluded Big Bash League, Australia's limited-overs captain assured the youngster an international debut in the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand. 

"The top three will be Wade, Philippe and myself," Finch said. "Maxi (Maxwell) and Stoin (Stoinis), four and five, around that area. It's pretty simple I'd imagine. When you look at the squad list, Josh Philippe has been in great nick and it's great to see him playing well. Matty Wade, we know how dynamic he is along with Maxi. We're going to be flexible with that top order as well. If that means Wadey or myself or Josh, whoever bats at three, it'll be a great opportunity." - Aaron Finch was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

One of the most captivating things about IPL is that it allows youngsters to rub shoulders with several cricket stalwarts. Finch believes that the experience of playing in a team that comprises two modern-day greats - Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers - has helped Josh Philippe take his game to another level. 

"He's someone who has obviously got all the shots but he's starting to get to that point of his career - and I think a lot of that was on the back of having a couple of months of IPL where he spent a lot of time with AB (de Villers) and Virat (Kohli) talking about batting with myself (as well) - he's taken his game to a new level because he's just getting past that period when he's not hitting them well." - Finch added. 

The five-match T20I series between Australia and New Zealand will start on February 22 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

New Zealand vs Australia - Schedule 

• 22 February - 1st T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
• 25 February - 2nd T20I at University Oval, Dunedin 
• 3 March - 3rd T20I at Sky Stadium, Wellington
• 5 March - 4th T20I at Eden Park, Auckland
• 7 March - 5th T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui 

Australia's squad for the T20I series: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

[Cricbuzz input]