"It seemed to work" - Matthew Kuhnemann recalls 'tips' from Ravindra Jadeja
Australian left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann recalled Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's guidance during the India tour earlier this year. The youngster reckoned the tricks worked well and hopes to deploy them in the Big Bash League.
Kuhnemann played a critical role in helping Australia win the third Test in Indore as he picked up 5 wickets in the first innings. After finishing with six in the match, the 27-year-old revealed that Jadeja gave him some useful tips after the series.
Speaking to Fox Cricket, the rookie spinner revealed:
"He gave me a few pointers at the end of the series, which was awesome. I sort of took that into the county season, and it seemed to work. Hopefully I can bring that into the Big Bash and contribute to some wins."
Before making his Test debut in Delhi in the same series, the Queensland cricketer had featured in four ODIs and managed to scalp six wickets in those. But despite Ashton Agar's injury ahead of the 2023 World Cup, he didn't receive a recall. He has decent first-class numbers, having picked up 56 wickets in 20 games at 33.75.
"I’ve learned heaps in the last 12 months" - Matthew Kuhnemann
The 27-year-old has also set sight on Australia's next red-ball assignment in the sub-continent, which will be their tour of Sri Lanka in 2025. He added:
"When the schedule comes out, me personally, you look at the subcontinent (tours). I’d love to get back in (the Test side). It was awesome, it was like a dream come true being over there. I’ve learned heaps in the last 12 months, so hopefully that puts me in good stead for the future."
While Australia had Nathan Lyon during their Sri Lanka tour in 2022, they sorely missed a specialist left-arm spinner. The tourists won the first Test comfortably by 10 wickets but lost the second Test by an innings and 39 runs. Prabhath Jayasuriya's six-wicket haul in both innings helped him bag the Player of the Match award as the Lankan Lions managed to finish the red-ball series 1-1.