World T20: Sridharan Sriram excited to join Australian team as consultant

Former India and Tamil Nadu batsman Sridharan Sriram is excited to join the Australia as consultant in South Africa, where Steve Smith's team will play three T20Is as preparation for next month's ICC World T20.

This will be Sriram's first assignment with the Australian team after being roped in during mid-2015 for his expertise on the sub-continent conditions. Sriram was scheduled to join the Test team on their tour of Bangladesh late last year but Australia withdrew from the trip for security concerns. Talking to dna before leaving on Saturday night for South Africa, the 40-year-old said not much should be read into Australia's 0-3 whitewash to India in the T20I series at home in January.

"I don't think they really take that loss seriously," the former left-handed batsman said. "They were trying out their players and trying to reward performances in Big Bash League. They were also trying to find the right combination going into World T20. They have now got a fair idea of what their combination should be. The squad looks a pretty strong one and we should not read too much into their 3-0 defeat to India, who played some extremely good cricket." Sriram said he was very excited to be working with Smith and coach Darren Lehmann, besides the rest of the players.

"It is a great challenge and honour to work with an international side, that too a No. 1 Test side in the world," Sriram said. Sriram was in touch with Lehmann constantly when the Aussie coach was not part of the T20I team in Australia, recuperating from Deep Vein Thrombosis. "He was in touch with me through email asking if I was following the games, what I thought of certain players, how they'd fit into Indian conditions, what I thought of the technique to play spin, what the combination should be, etc," he said.

Sriram's previous international coaching experiences include helping Australia 'A' on their tour of India last year and the South African team prior to the recent ICC U-19 World Cup during its preparatory camp in Dubai and for a few days before the tournament. Asked if South Africa, where the three-match series begins on March 4, would be an ideal preparation for World T20 considering that the pitches there would be different from the world event, Sriram said: "Maybe for Test matches, wickets would be different. But for 40 overs, pitch remains the same. It can't get better or deteriorate in 90 per cent of the occasions. In T20 cricket, it is about finding the combination right, who fits in which role, when to use a certain player, when you bat a particular player, when you bowl a particular player. It is about fitting in the pieces together. More or less, it is similar worldwide."

Sriram's inputs will be vital for Australia in World T20 as it remains the only world title that has eluded them. He put the onus on the players when asked if he could make a difference to the side come the mega event.
"At the end of the day, it is about them. From my point of view, it's about a little inputs here and there, how to go about in middle overs, how to bat against spin on Indian conditions. Most of them have played a lot in India.

Glenn Maxwell, Smith, David Warner have played a lot in Mohali, Dharamsala and Bengaluru. It is not that they do not know to play in Indian conditions. It is about something that they miss out and which I can add. It is also a reiteration for them that they are going on the right track. It is about that one percentage that they talk about," he said.

Australia are placed in Group 2 along with India, Pakistan, New Zealand and a qualifier.

guru.krishnan@dnaindia.net