CA appoints ex-Indian int’l as WT20 consultant

Cricket Australia (CA) has appointed former India player Sridharan Sriram and ex-Australia batsman Mike Hussey as consultants to help the national team prepare for next year’s World T20 in its quest to claim the only ICC global trophy that has eluded it.

Sriram will be with the Australia team in the lead-up and early stages of the WT20, scheduled to be hosted by India in March 2016.

The former India ODI batsman will join captain Aaron Finch’s men during the three-match T20 tour of South Africa before Hussey returns to the Australian set-up for the first two weeks of the competition.

“We will play three T20 Internationals against South Africa prior to arriving in India and Sriram’s focus will be on getting the players as prepared as possible for what they will face in India,” CA Executive General Manager of Team Performance, Pat Howard said.

“Sriram was a consultant coach with the Australia A side when they travelled to India earlier this year and was due to go to Bangladesh as a consultant prior to the tour being postponed. He has also been working with our National Performance Squad for the past few years,” he added.

The Indian Premier League’s Delhi Daredevils assistant coach Sriram has played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004.

Hussey, the current captain of KFC Big Bash League club Sydney Thunder, has a vast T20 experience that includes stints with Perth Scorchers, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians besides 38 matches for Australia.