AUSTRALIA is on the verge of dropping a selection bombshell at the World Twenty20, with plans to thrust David Warner into a dynamic new role down the order.

Warner has dominated for years as cricket’s leading international opener, but The Daily Telegraph understands the vice-captain could be injected at either No.3 or 4 in next month’s showpiece event in India.

There is a feeling that the in-form Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson must open or risk struggling to get their innings started in the T20 format, and a potential shift for the more versatile Warner is aimed at ensuring Australia’s superstar batting line-up can fire from all cylinders.

Selectors see left-hand, right-hand combinations at the top of the order as crucial, meaning Warner and skipper Steve Smith could rotate freely between first and second drop, depending on which opener loses his wicket first.

For example Warner could replace Khawaja at the crease, and Smith for Watson.

It’s a radical proposal but one that could hold the key to Australia breaking its longest cricketing drought, having never won the World Twenty20 since the tournament’s inception back in 2007.

Australia flew to South Africa on Sunday and will get the chance to try out different combinations in a series of three warm-up internationals against the Proteas starting on March 4 in Durban.

The squad is packed with batsmen who can open, but the side must also find a way to keep the runs flowing through the middle-order, a weakness exploited by India earlier this summer.

Not seeing Warner open the batting would be a bizarre sight for Australian cricket, however his shift down to a new position would be testament to his supreme adaptability as a master of all conditions and match situations.

Warner has batted down the order in his younger days and even operated at No.6 in the Test team for his comeback innings midway through the 2013 Ashes.

The 29-year-old might have been viewed as a T20 hitter when he first debuted back in 2007, but Warner has evolved into a complete run-scorer as his career has developed and he knows Indian conditions like the back of his hand as one of the best the IPL has ever seen.

Like Warner, Smith is viewed as a rare commodity that won’t be bogged down regardless of where he bats.

Watson’s massive unbeaten hundred for Australia at the SCG in late January was proof that opening is his best spot.

Further down the order the all-rounder struggles to find his rhythm coming in against spinners and with scoreboard pressure building up.

Khawaja’s natural stroke-making is also suited to opening in the shortest format and it was at the top that he smashed two memorable centuries and a tournament-winning 70 for the Sydney Thunder this summer.

Axed captain Aaron Finch appears on the outer for a place in a first-choice XI, amid concerns over his ability to hit his straps on tricky, low, slow wickets.

Australia is set to stack their best side with all-rounders, with Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh and the finisher James Faulkner to combine in a formidable middle-order.

The fitness issues of squad members Faulkner, Finch (both hamstring), Watson (side) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (shoulder) appear to be under control.

Coulter-Nile would likely feature in a first-choice attack if fit, while National Selector Rod Marsh hinted that Adam Zampa would start as the No.1 spinning option ahead of Ashton Agar.

Possible full-strength Australian XI: Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Peter Nevill, Josh Hazlewood