If Darren Lehmann hadn’t axed him two years ago, Ben Dunk reckons he wouldn’t be preparing to debut in Australia’s Twenty20 team.

Lehmann punted Dunk from Queensland in 2012 and delivered the big-hitting batsman-wicketkeeper some tough love.

“I hadn’t played good enough cricket leading up to that point and he made the decision. And that is fine, there are no hard feelings,” Dunk told reporters in Adelaide on Monday.

“As a cricketer, when I look back at my record, the stats really don’t lie. I just wasn’t up to it at the time.”

Dunk, who went to Tasmania, will make his Australian debut in Wednesday’s T20 fixture against South Africa.

He spoke of a great relationship with Lehmann while in Queensland, where Lehmann coached before winning the national team job.

“Very good relationship – both left-handed batsmen, he was great for my batting,” said 27-year-old Dunk.

“Unfortunately he couldn’t score the runs for me at the time.

“It’s just the way it was. And that is sport I guess. I’m certainly not the first person to be delisted and I won’t be the last.”

Dunk, a shock selection as wicketkeeper-batsman in Australia’s T20 outfit for the three-match series against the Proteas, said he had undoubtedly improved as a cricketer because of his move to Tasmania.

“It was a great experience for me personally to go through that and I feel like I have bounced back and I’m a better player now,” he said.

“Tasmania have got a great track record of guys coming from the mainland across and into their program – Ed Cowan and Jackson Bird and those sort of guys have all made great leaps forward in their cricket.

“The coaching staff down there have really helped me and the players and the culture in the dressing room have set me up to be where I am at the moment.”