Indian minds at battle in Australia-Bangladesh series

Tell Sridharan Sriram that the two-match Test series between Bangladesh and Australia starting on Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Sunday is also a contest between two Indian minds – himself in the Australian dressing room and Sunil Joshi in the hosts’. And, the former Tamil Nadu and India left-handed all-rounder will just laugh it off saying: “Ultimately, it is Australia vs Bangladesh.”

Sriram is not new to his role as spin consultant with the Australian cricket team as he has been doing it for the last couple of years whenever the team tours the Asian sub-continent. For Sunil Joshi, the former India left-arm spinner from Karnataka, it is a first with a Test-playing nation.

The 47-year-old Joshi was doing his Level 3 High Performance coaching course last week and had to rush to Dhaka on Monday after being offered the role of spin consultant with Bangladesh for the current Test series. He landed in the early hours of Tuesday and straightaway hit the ground for a session with the Bangladesh spinners. “I am very excited to share my knowledge and hopefully, if I can make a difference to them, I will be glad,” Joshi told DNA from Dhaka. “I don’t want to change what they have been all these years. Within that only they can enhance their positive approach. I will be like a mentor to them,” he said.

Joshi, who has coaching experience with Ranji Trophy teams Hyderabad and Jammu & Kashmir while also guiding Oman national team in 2016 Asia Cup and ICC World T20 qualifiers, said he will share his experiences of playing against Australia. “I can share my own experiences of playing against Australia and make them prepare well,” Joshi said. “I need to make them feel comfortable. I will contribute tactically and also in the field placements,” said the former left-arm spinner who once took five wickets conceding six runs against South Africa in Nairobi in 1999.

“I am looking forward to this short assignment, helping them prepare the way I have prepared against the mighty Aussies. I have been speaking with them about doing things consistently. At this level, you need to be consistent. If you are consistent, then only things will happen,” Joshi, who has 41 wickets in 15 Tests and 69 scalps in as many ODIs in an international career, said. Of these, eight wickets in six ODIs, and two in one Test have come against the Aussies.

Joshi has been in discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the spin consultant post since the one-off Test between India and Bangladesh in Hyderabad in March this year. “They have good spinners as was seen in their last series against Sri Lanka. The trio of left-armers Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam, and off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz have done well in the past.”

Joshi is clear about his role. “Firstly, communication is no bar as they understand Hindi. Secondly, I have played league cricket in Bangladesh. Though I have not played against the current players, the connect with them is still there. Thirdly, I am preparing them for such a big opponent. It allows me to talk to them and make them feel comfortable,” he explained.

One feature of Joshi, the coach, is that he shows the players how to do things himself. Often, he is seen at the nets bowling to batsmen. “I show them by myself bowling in the nets. If I can bowl without warming up, the players can bowl with all their fitness,” Joshi reasoned out. Joshi has some secret weapons that he will unleash on the Australians through the Bangladeshi spinners. This series is not just about a battle between the spinners. It is also one between the two Indian consultants.