Australia's failed quest to find form before the T20 World Cup has left their players feeling fatigued before the tournament has even started.
But captain Aaron Finch insists his players remain confident they can turn things around, despite slumping to a 2-0 series result against England and likely only avoiding a third defeat thanks to a rain intervention.
The Aussies have played five T20s in nine days shortly after returning from another three matches in India late last month, and have another hit-out against the Indians on Monday.
Finch admitted the schedule played a factor in the disappointing recent performances.
"The guys are probably a little bit tired at the moment," he told reporters.
"In all honesty, the schedule has been so packed over the last six or eight weeks that we identified a couple of months ago we wanted to make sure that we're in a position to be peaking at the right time with the World Cup.
"It's going to be important over the next couple of days to try and freshen everyone up as much as we can."
The captain, whose own shaky form was again highlighted with a golden duck on Friday night, wondered if Monday's clash with India might be unnecessary given the recent workload, but said momentum was critical in the shorter form of the game.
"It's a double-edged sword, guys need to get out there and continue to play," he said.
"That's a really tough thing in T20 cricket, to have long breaks and then keep being consistent.
"It can be really challenging as a batter especially. I'm sure some guys who haven't got an opportunity in this game will ... we'll pick a side based on how everyone is feeling."
But despite a number of players out of form and the side having gone three games without a win, Finch insisted this was a side that can successfully defend their T20 World Cup crown on home soil.
He saw many similarities between this side and the one that defied the odds to win last year's tournament in the UAE.
"Internally, we felt really confident leading into the last World Cup when nobody gave us much of a chance," he said.
"I'm not sure what people are saying or what the general consensus is now, but we're still really confident we've got the team, the structure, the individuals and the match-winners that can win a World Cup."
