In a bid to counter the likes of Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and other left-arm pacers, the Indian team has added a left-arm throwdown expert to their coaching staff ahead of the 2018 Asia Cup.
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Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Seneviratne has been roped in by the BCCI to help the Indian team and assist Raghu, the team’s throwdown specialist for the 50-over tournament.
A source close to the Indian Express was quoted as saying: “He (Seneviratne) will be assisting the team only for the Asia Cup. His inclusion is only on a trial basis for now. The BCCI is in regular touch with the Indian team management, and the request to look for a left-arm throwdown especially had come from the team.”
“One more reason for hiring his services was that the Pakistan team has good left-arm pacers. So he’s been brought on board in order to provide our batsmen with adequate practice”.
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While the current contract is only a trial one, Seneviratne could be handed a full-time contract with the team if he manages to make an impact in the series.
The 36-year-old is a former first-class cricketer, who played for the Colombo Cricket Club in the early 2000s, and has previously acted as the fielding coach of the Sri Lankan team. He’s been coaching sides domestically and was the assistant coach of the Kandy team in the Sri Lankan Super Provincial 50-over tournament.
The Indian team has had its share of problems with left-arm pace – early last year, to counter the menace of Mitchell Starc ahead of the Australia series at home, the team had employed Aniket Choudhary in the nets. Recently, Arjun Tendulkar was seen bowling to the Indian side in England, perhaps to mimic the challenges faced while batting against Sam Curran.
In a recent interview with the New Indian Express, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun had admitted that the side has all kinds of variety, but is looking for a left-arm pacer to complete its attack: “In fast bowling, we have a short guy, a tall guy, one with an awkward action, one skiddy bowler, and a quickie. The only thing we’re missing is a left-armer. That is what we have requested the selectors for.”
