Mickey Arthur, Sri Lanka head coach, has warned Australia of the threat posed by ‘mystery spinner’ Maheesh Theekshana ahead of their clash on Thursday in Dubai. Mickey Arthur hopes Maheesh Theekshna’s off-spin would strangle the Australian batters and spin a web around them.
Maheesh 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.
Mickey Arthur: Mystery Spinner Mahesh Theekshana Certainly Poses Some Questions To Oppositions
Mickey Arthur, who coached Australia for three years, said that he is aware of their weakness against spin bowling. But, speaking of Maheesh Theekshana, Mickey Arthur believes the bowler could pose a few questions to the opposition with his repertoire of tricks.
“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,” Mickey 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, which they won, as he picked up an injury. However, Mickey Arthur wants to unleash the youngster against Australia, who haven’t faced him before. Maheesh Theekshana picked 4 scalps in 1 ODI and 9 scalps in 6 T20Is averaging 9.25 and 15.33, respectively, in the limited over formats.
David Warner Likes The Word Mystery Spinner And Seen Some Footage
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.
David Warner had a forgettable year after losing his playing XI spot and the captaincy role he had with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was only able to score a solitary run across both warm-up games against New Zealand and India as well and scored only 14 against South Africa in the tournament opener.
David 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.”