To improve his spin game Peter Handscomb tries to emulate Ajinkya Rahane

Peter Handscomb is better known for having a Test average above 60 and at a point very early in his career, when he was second only to the great Don Bradman. With just two fifty-plus scores in his last 9 Tests, Handscomb no longer features in the Australian team. He only played 8 ODIs and could never quite cement his place in the XI. The 27-year-old is in India at the moment on the A team tour where they are playing a Quadrangular series.

With the tour against Pakistan in the UAE just around the corner, Handscomb wants to refine his spin game. The right-hander thinks if he can pick a leaf out of Ajinkya Rahane’s book he will be in a much better position. The two played along in the Rising Pune Supergiant team in the IPL 2016. Handscomb wants to play spin on the backfoot as well and tries to emulate Rahane.

Learnt during the IPL stint

“I played in the IPL a couple of years back with Ajinkya Rahane. I love how he plays, he has the ability to play spin off the back foot really well. I’ve watched him, had a couple of chats with him during that time, and I think he’s a quality player, and someone I’ve tried to emulate on occasions,” the Victoria cricketer said.

He also attributed Australia’s spin bowling coach Sridharan Sriram for helping the players understand the art of playing slower bowlers especially in the subcontinent. Handscomb said Sriram’s teaching them how to sweep and play the ball off the backfoot, the technique as well as temperament required to handle quality spin.

“(Sriram) is one hell of a batter and bowler in his own right. He knows what to look for, and he’s been helping all of us learn how to sweep, use our feet, play off the back foot. He watches each batter separately, understands that we’ve all got different techniques and different ways of playing certain shots. And then he finds their strengths and tries to teach that, coach that,” he said as quoted by Sportskeeda.

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