"He gave me some good tips for the next time we're in the subcontinent" - Matthew Kuhnemann on Ravindra Jadeja
Australian left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann revealed that his Indian counterpart Ravindra Jadeja was highly helpful as he provided him tips after the grueling four-match Test series between the two sides.
The Queensland spinner disclosed that Jadeja went to the lengths of messaging him on Instagram.
Kuhnemann was one of the standout bowlers in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, delivering an impactful performance in only his second Test appearance.
The left-arm spinner picked up five wickets in the first innings in Indore, including that of Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, to bowl India out for a mere 109.
Speaking to AAP, Kuhnemann disclosed that a 15-minute chat with Jadeja did him a world of good with regards to bowling in the sub-continent conditions and feels he could use those tips while bowling in Australia as well. He said:
"It was probably about 15 minutes, he was just giving me some awesome tips; we talked about everything. Nathan Lyon helped organised it as well. He was really impressed with Todd, 'Gaz' and myself so that was really cool to hear that from him.
"He gave me some good tips for the next time we're in the subcontinent and some tips to go back home with as well. He was really nice and just said any time to reach out, and even sent me a message on Instagram, so that was pretty cool."
The 26-year-old was not in the initial squad that the selectors picked as they flew him before the second Test, given Ashton Agar was low on confidence. The Indore Test against India also saw him dismiss Virat Kohli in the second innings.
"Nathan Lyon took myself and Todd under his wing from the get-go" - Matthew Kuhnemann
Kuhnemann also referred to Nathan Lyon as a "big brother", given how he imparted his learnings to him and Todd Murphy from the outset. The youngster added:
"The way that it happened, I wouldn't change it for the world. Nathan Lyon took myself and Todd under his wing from the get go, he was pretty much like a big brother to us over here.
"I think we're very lucky to have 'Gaz' and his experience to learn off. I'm ready to get back in the nets, get back in there after speaking to Jadeja. I'm really keen to tinker with a couple of things, trying to just keep improving my skills and play as much cricket as I can."
The Australian spin trio earned high praise from Rahul Dravid, who felt it was the best spin-bowling unit to visit India in the past decade.