Having waltzed to the World Cup title, Australia are getting ready to conquer the World T20 stage as well, with the 50-over world champions hiring Michael Hussey, their former batting star, and Sridharan Sriram, the ex India international, to help them acclimatise as quickly as possible to conditions in India, the host nation for the mega tournament.
Australia have been placed in a difficult group, which also has New Zealand, Pakistan and hosts India, and Cricket Australia are hoping to get a leg up on their opponents by appointing Sriram and Hussey, who by now knows Indian conditions like the back of his hand, as consultants.
"As a proud Australian cricketer I am delighted to be involved in Australia's campaign for the World T20 title," Hussey said. "I'm really looking forward to working with the boys and assisting in any way possible with their preparation and matchday plans."
Hussey will join the Australia team for the early part of the World T20, while Sriram's focus will be on the leadup matches to the World Cup, with the Aussies scheduled to play three T20Is against South Africa in South Africa.
"Mike has been one of our most successful players at transitioning between the different formats and his advice and support in this area will be of great benefit to the players who have played a large amount of Test and ODI cricket in the last 12 months," Cricket Australia's executive general manager of team performance Pat Howard said.
"He also has significant experience playing in India through the Indian Premier League and will assist in adapting to the unique conditions we will experience."
Sriram was a consultant for Australia A in their recent tour of India, while also being a part of the National Performance Squad in recent seasons. Howard believes Sriram, who played eight ODIs for India between 2000-2004, is the ideal candidate to ensure Australia are well-prepared going into the World T20 in India.
"We will play three T20 Internationals against South Africa prior to arriving in India, and Sriram's focus will be on getting the players as prepared as possible for what they will face in India," Howard added.
"Sriram was a consultant coach with the Australia A side when they travelled to India earlier this year and was due to go to Bangladesh as a consultant prior to the tour being postponed. He has also been working with our National Performance Squad for the past few years."
