Langer in selection dilemma

Australia coach Justin Langer Monday admitted some players will be "brutally unlucky" as he faces a World Cup selection dilemma with the return of Steve Smith and David Warner.

The defending champions must name their 15-man squad this month for the tournament in England and Wales and Langer said the make-up was becoming clear on the back of the resurgent team's stunning eight-game one-day win streak against India and Pakistan.

"It's actually becoming more obvious by the day to me. The same with the other selectors," he said on the Cricket Australia website.

"We know categorically there are going to be one or two guys brutally unlucky not to get selected because they're all going so well... the blokes in the squad at the moment will be praying it's not them."

Australia made it eight in a row with a 20-run win in the fifth and final one-dayer against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday to sweep the series 5-0 after coming from behind to beat India 3-2 last month.

Their red-hot form has been built on the back of a rock-solid opening partnership between skipper Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja.

Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell have also been in fine touch with the bat, leaving difficult decisions as to where Warner and Smith will fit back in after serving their one-year bans for their part in a ball-tampering scandal.

The bombastic Warner seems a certain starter for their World Cup opener against Afghanistan in Bristol on June 1 after his blistering return to the Indian Premier League.

He bludgeoned a century in 55 balls on Sunday after smashing 85 and 69 in his first two outings for Sunrisers Hyderabad last week.

Former captain Smith, who has scored more modestly with 20 and 28 for the Rajasthan Royals so far, is also expected to be recalled by Australia.