Victorian all-rounder Damien Wright has withdrawn from the Bushrangers squad to contest the Twenty20 Champions League in India because of injury.
Wright has been replaced in the 15-man squad, which is scheduled to depart Melbourne on Friday morning for New Delhi, by young pace bowler James Pattinson.
Bushrangers coach Greg Shipperd described it as the 'opportunity of a lifetime' for 19-year-old Pattison whose only first class match for Victoria was against Western Australia at the WACA in November last year.
Shipperd said that while Wright's experience will be hard to replace, he retains high hopes for the Bushrangers whose pre-season has been dominated by Twenty20 with the Champions League in mind.
"Our almost absolute focus has been around this form of the game," said Shipperd.
"All our preparation, our practice matches, our trip to Lismore was centred around getting our formulas right, our bowling formulas right and bedding down in some of the newer players' minds some of the nuances of the game."
Shipperd said he expects his younger squad members to get the most out of playing in front of the huge crowds expected at venues such as New Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium which will host the Bushrangers' opening match against the Delhi Daredevils.
He said hard-hitting Victorian Aiden Blizzard would be among the youngsters watched closely by IPL recruiters.
"It's a platform, a stage for them to advance their game domestically back in Australia but also for the many scouts, I'm sure, that will be there from an IPL point of view with an option coming up for year-four just around the corner," said Shipperd.
"I'm sure that young players in all teams will be wanting to play very well, so there's a great opportunity out there."