Indian leg-spinners help Aussies prepare against Pakistan

Former India all-rounder Sridharan Sriram has again been enlisted by Australia as a consultant coach to help unlock the mysteries of the subcontinent, bringing with him two wrist-spinners; leggie Pardeep Sahu and left-arm wrist spinner KK Jiyas.

Australia is undergoing a crash course in facing spin bowling, finding a way to negate Pakistan’s star bowlers Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan. Donning the official team kit, the pair has bowled tirelessly to the Aussies as they trained for a third straight day in scorching desert temperatures that haven’t dropped below 40 degrees Celsius. “We’re pretty lucky that our spin bowling coach Sri is from India and gladly dragged over a couple of mates of his from back home,” said paceman Peter Siddle.

“They’re experienced and they’re very good bowlers in their own right. They’re putting in a good con-test in the nets, they’re bowling a lot of overs. In the past we’ve come into a series, worked hard on spin, but not specifically on (their opponents’) bowling, what deliveries they bowl and the cues to watch as a batter.”

“It (Pakistan) has got two star leg-spinners, Yasir Shah – who we’ve played before, he’s a great player – and Shadab Khan, who’s been playing and we expect to line up.” In a brief respite from their exhausting physical preparation, players and coaches sat on plastic chairs in the shade and discussed wrist-spin bowling at length. Sahu took questions from the group as he appeared to explain different leg-spin varieties and what cues to look for to successfully pick them.