Sridharan, Monty to mentor Oz spinners

Melbourne: To counter India in spin-friendly conditions in the upcoming Test series, Cricket Australia has hired former India spinner Sriram Sridharan as spin consultant. They have also recruited England spinner Monty Panesar as their spin-bowling consultant. The 34-year-old Panesar, who spent this summer as a club cricketer in Sydney, was chosen owing to his impressive record during England's memorable series win in India in 2012-13 when he snared 17 wickets in three Tests.

Sridharan, who played eight ODIs for India between March 2000 and December 2004, had assisted the Australian team on the Sri Lanka tour as well as the World Twenty20 in India last year. "Sri has worked with us on a number of occasions now all across our pathway system and he is currently in Dubai with our Under-16 team providing his expertise on sub-continental conditions.

He knows our players very well and has a wealth of knowledge on the conditions that our players will face in India," Pat Howard, Cricket Australia's Executive General Manager Team Performance, said in a release here on Tuesday. The 40-year-old Sridharan, who claimed nine ODI wickets with his left-arm spin in his career, is excited for the four-Test series, beginning February 23 in Pune. "I consider it a great honour to be given the opportunity to work with the Australian men team once again. I really look forward to contributing to a winning cause, against a quality opposition like India," he said.