Australia rope in Sriram as consultant

Australia have brought on former India international Sridharan Sriram as a coaching consultant for their Test series in Bangladesh in October, with the aim of helping their players adjust to the conditions better. Sriram, who is an assistant coach with the IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils, had worked with the Australia A squad that toured India in July and August.

None of the players in Australia's new-look squad led by Steven Smith have played Test cricket in Bangladesh before.

"I've played international cricket for India and I'm looking forward to sharing my experience and knowledge of subcontinent conditions with the squad," Sriram told the Cricket Australia website. "The Australian cricket team talks about one-percenters and my role will be to contribute that one percent to help the team adapt to the conditions and opponents quickly, which can ultimately influence the outcome of the game.

"In the long run, I see myself as someone who can help the Australian batsmen become better players of spin bowling and also help spinners understand the psyche and technique of different batsmen and adapt to different conditions."

Sriram played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004, and also has the experience of 133 first-class matches and 147 List A games.