Australia’s selectors and team performance manager Pat Howard made a tough call to rest champion allrounder Shane Watson from the one-day series against Pakistan and Watson wasn’t happy about it at the time.

However Watson’s form in the Twenty20 series which followed – 88 runs at 29.33 and three wickets at 17.00 – shows the two-time Allan Border Medallist is approaching top gear for the World T20 which starts in Sri Lanka next week.

A calf problem meant Watson was unable to bowl during Australia’s training camp in Darwin last month ahead of the one-day and T20 series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Australia’s most important player, whose versatility in all three formats is a godsend for coach Mickey Arthur, was told to stay home and do some extra training for a few weeks and skip the one-dayers.

“Any time you get a chance to play for Australia, I want to be playing,” Watson said on Thursday.

“I’ve missed a lot of games through injury and when fit I want to be playing.

“That was the case that I put forward but I do understand their reasoning behind it as well.

“That’s the biggest challenge at the moment is trying to find the balance. It’s a fine line.

“There’s no doubt I was fit to be able to play, even as a batsman, in that one-day tournament.

“I probably didn’t have the bowling under my belt to be able to bowl 10 overs if I had to in a game.”

Watson said it would be virtually non-stop cricket for Australia with a November Test series at home against South Africa followed by Tests against Sri Lanka (home) and India (away), then the Champion Trophy in England in June 2013 and an Ashes tour.

“They were trying to find a time for me to be able to get some pre-season training in,” Watson said.

“That extra couple of weeks that I did have at home certainly meant that I could really get my strength and my fitness exactly where I need to, to hopefully be able to give myself the best chance of getting through that next 18 months of cricket.”