India vs Australia: Bringing in KK Jiyas is a chance to train against someone who bowls similar to Kuldeep Yadav, says Steve Smith

Australia will play five ODIs and three T20Is in India. (Source: PTI)

To counter the threat of Kuldeep Yadav the Australian cricket team is trying out new and innovative ways. In the latest move, they called upon left-arm wrist spinner KK Jiyas to bowl at the nets. Sridharan Sriram was the one who asked Jiyas to bowl to the Aussies.

In an interview with cricket.com.au, Smith spoke about the issue of playing Kuldeep Yadav and said, “A few of the guys have played against him in the IPL and we saw what he did in Sri Lanka as well. He’s a good young talent. He can be difficult to pick at times so he’s someone you’ve got to watch really closely. Hopefully, we can put him under a little bit of pressure early in his spell and try and take him for as many (runs) as we can.”

“Bringing in Jiyas is a chance to train against someone who bowls the same. There’s not too many around the world so it’s a little bit different and it’s been good to get someone who bowls a bit of that.”, Smith added.

Meanwhile, Jiyas spoke to TOI about his experience of bowling in the nets to the Australian batsman and said that revealed that he enjoyed his stint at the nets. “It was a dream day for me. I enjoyed bowling to them. I bowled about 12 overs and I tried all variations. I was able to beat their bats on the outside a few times but at times they whacked me. It was thrilling”. “They were trying to read my hand. Maxwell defended as well as attacked,” Jiyas added.

Meanwhile, it was Australia’s spin consultant Sridharan Sriram who called Jiyas to come and bowl at the nets in Chennai. Commenting on it Jiyas said, “Sriram asked me to come and bowl. I came here on Thursday night. It was Sriram who saw me bowl and was impressed in 2015. He has been an excellent guide. Bowling to the Aussie batsmen was a great learning experience.”