"If you haven’t seen Maheesh Theekshana, he certainly poses some questions" - Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur alerts Australia
Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has warned Australia of the threat posed by 'mystery spinner' Maheesh Theekshana ahead of their clash on Thursday in Dubai. Arthur hopes Theekshna's off-spin would strangle the Australian batters and spin a web around them.
Theekshana has been one of the breakout stars for Sri Lanka in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The 21-year-old has snared eight wickets in three games in the qualifiers of the competition, at an average of 5.62.
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Arthur, who coached Australia for three years, said that he is aware of their weakness against spin bowling. Speaking of Theekshana, Arthur believes the bowler, with his repertoire of tricks, could pose a few questions to the opposition.
"We obviously have studied Australia. We had a series not so long ago when I was with Pakistan here against him where we did use spin quite successfully. If you haven’t seen Maheesh, he certainly poses some questions. He has a couple of different balls that do make you quite hesitant if you can’t pick them," Arthur said as quoted by the West Australian.
The off-spinner wasn't available to play in Sri Lanka's first Super 12 game against Bangladesh, as he picked up an injury. However, Arthur wants to unleash the youngster against Australia, who haven't faced him before.
See who is currently the highest wicket taker in T20 World Cup 2021 here.
"I like the word mystery spinner ... I've seen some of the footage" - David Warner ahead of the Sri Lanka clash
Australian opener David Warner reacted to the 'mystery spinner' challenge, saying it would be a tricky proposition to face him under lights. However, the left-hander is confident of putting the bowler under pressure. Warner said:
"I like the word mystery spinner ... I’ve seen some of the footage. You have to watch their hand closely and under lights that’s a difficult thing to do, you don’t get to see the seam."
"From a batter’s perspective it’s about applying pressure like you normally do to any bowler. We know coming up against sub-continental teams they like to play two or three spinners against us, which we’re prepared for."
Although Australia won their first game against South Africa, they had to work hard to overhaul a 119-run target.
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Australia need their openers to fire, starting with the game against Sri Lanka, as the tournament progresses.