Australia recruit Indian wrist spinners Jiyas, Sahu to counter Yasir, Shadab

Bengaluru, September 25: Australia have recruited two Indian wrist spinners - KK Jiyas and Pardeep Sahu - to counter the threat of Pakistan leg spinners Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan. The first Test between Australia and Pakistan will start on October 7 in Dubai.

S Sriram, the former India all-rounder who now works as a bowling consultant with the Australia cricket team, has initiated the drafting in of Jiyas and Sahu to the nets to equip the Aussie batsmen better against wrist spin.

"In the past, we've probably come into the series, worked hard on spin but not specifically on their bowling, what deliveries they bowl, and the cues to watch as batters. We've been lucky enough to get a couple of guys to come in, very good spin bowlers," paceman Peter Siddle said.

"The big focus is obviously that they've got two star leg-spinners. Yasir Shah, who we've played before, obviously a great player. And Shadab Khan, who's been playing and we expect in the line-up. We've got a contest against those two guys, we're having good discussions about it - different deliveries and what to watch," said Siddle.

Sahu is a 33-year-old leg-spinner from Haryana and has played 13 first-class matches, while the 26-year-old Jiyas is a left-arm wrist-spinner from Kerala and is yet to make his Ranji Trophy debut for the state.

Jiyas had represented Kerala in Under-19, Under-22 and Under-25 level. Before his Delhi Daredevils stint, Jiyas was part of the Development squad of the Rajasthan Royals during 2011-2013. Sriram got acquainted to the skills of Jiyas during his stint as the Daredevils assistant coach in 2015.

The last time Australia visited UAE to face Pakistan, Yasir picked up 12 wickets in two Tests and Zulfikar Babar, the left-arm spinner, bagged 14 wickets. Sahu and Jiyas might not quite be at that level, but know the nuances of the art well enough to help the Australians.

Speaking about Jiyas and Sahu, Siddle said: "They're experienced and they're very good bowlers in their own right. They're putting in a good contest in the nets, they're bowling a lot of overs.

They've been able to jump in and give us little tips on their ideas and the different types of deliveries that they have, what to watch and what to look out for. It's definitely helping the batters in this group, they've learnt a lot in the couple of days they've got to work with them."