Aussies hire spin gurus ahead of India tour

SYDNEY: Former Indian bowler Sriram Sridharan will work with Australia as a “spin consultant” on the upcoming tour of India, Cricket Australia announced on Tuesday.

Sridharan played eight one-day internationals for India and toured with Australian squads in Sri Lanka and India last year.

“He knows our players very well and has a wealth of knowledge on the conditions that our players will face in India,” said team performance manager Pat Howard.

Australia have named four spinners in the squad to take on top-ranked India in the series that begins in Pune on February 23.

Uncapped Mitchell Swepson, 23, joins Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and Steve O’Keefe.

Monty Panesar, the former England spinner, who played three Test tours of India for 28 wickets, has also been recruited by Australia to impart his knowledge of sub-continent pitches.

Panesar, who was one of England’s 2012 winning tourists in India, will spend a week in Brisbane with the Australians as they seek to bolster their chances of winning their first match in India since 2004.